Pokémon: Aiming for Kanto's Summit
by Fox McCloude
Summary: Six months after winning the Kanto League Conference, Ash returns to the Indigo Plateau with a new goal: to challenge and defeat the Elite Four members, and eventually the regional champion. Will he have what it takes to win? Rewrite of an old story. Cover image made by Vinylshadow.
1. Prologue

**Pokémon: Aiming for Kanto's Summit**

 **By Fox McCloude.**

 **Disclaimer:** Pokémon and all related characters belong to Satoshi Tajiri, Nintendo and GAMEFREAK. All rights reserved.

 **Prologue:** The Final Challenge.

* * *

 _ **Kanto region…**_

The Indigo Plateau, the final destination for the Pokémon Trainers in the Kanto region, a place that has seen the rise and fall of champions in the Pokémon League. Six months ago, the Indigo Stadium was the stage for the regional League Conference, the winner of which earned the right to challenge the Elite Four, a group formed by the best among the best trainers in the region.

And for a certain young man who departed from Pallet Town at age ten, the time has come to face them, and achieve his lifelong dream: to become a Pokémon Master.

"Here we are, Pikachu. The Indigo Plateau, once again," said Ash, as he flew over the city on his Charizard's back, glancing at the stadium in the distance.

"Pikapika." The rodent nodded vigorously from his trainer's shoulder.

That would be the third time Ash came to the Indigo Plateau. The first time, it had been during his first year as a Pokémon trainer. For a kid who didn't take his training seriously, it was quite an achievement to make it to the Top 16 in his first official tournament. But the years went by, and thanks to his journeys and experiences around the world, Ash grew, matured, and became stronger, and so did his Pokémon. Almost ten years later, he took part in the Kanto regional tournament, and after facing many hard opponents, he made it to the finals and this time he achieved victory.

As the Indigo Conference winner, Ash had earned to, should he choose to do it, issue an official challenge to the Kanto Elite Four. Defeating any of them would definitely grant him the title of a Pokémon Master; however, defeating the four of them would open an even bigger door: the chance to challenge the Regional Champion for his title. The hardest challenge he would have had in his entire life, but as someone who lived for the competition, he wasn't afraid. He was excited and pumped to overcome the challenge.

The date to begin the Elite Four challenge had been decided six months ago so he would have time to prepare, and now, there was only one week left. The Pokémon League's Chairman had sent him a notice to come a few days earlier to sort the final arrangements, so he left Pallet Town a few hours earlier in the morning. Now he could see the welcome committee waiting for him; as soon as they saw him they waved their arms to get his attention.

"Let's go down, Charizard," Ash requested.

Charizard nodded and with a growl he began flying down in the direction his trainer pointed. There was a small crowd gathered around, but the local police had corded the area and was stopping the curious people to get too close.

"Stay back everybody!" Officer Jenny shouted, trying to hold back the masses, but the cheering and clapping from the crowd couldn't be contained.

"Ash, you're the greatest!"

"You're number one, dude, you'll be the champion!"

"We love you, Ash!"

Ash laughed nervously, still recalling the first time he walked across that street, believing people was cheering for him. Now, knowing that the screaming and applauses _were_ for him, he didn't feel as big-headed as that time. Nevertheless, he smiled and waved at them, causing many a girl among the crowd to scream and swoon over him, some even fainting.

Once they landed, Ash recognized four out of five people who were waiting for him. The shortest among them, old Mr. Charles Goodshow, immediately approached him as he hopped off Charizard's back.

"Welcome Ash!" he greeted as he extended his hand. "It's great to see you again after so long."

"Same here, Mr. Goodshow." Ash shook the old man's hand. "We're all excited to be here, aren't we, guys?"

"Pikapika!" Pikachu gave a thumbs up, and Charizard growled in agreement.

"Ah, time really flies, doesn't it? I still recall that day when you first came to this place. You've grown a lot since then, boy; you're no longer a rookie."

Ash scratched the back of his head, chuckling nervously. True, he wasn't an overconfident rookie anymore, believing he could beat everyone, but a trainer with a decade of experience and adventures under his belt, ready to give it all to achieve his goals.

"Well, I think it's time for us to give you the proper welcome. Come on over."

Mr. Goodshow led Ash to meet the Elite Four themselves. Ash had already encountered three of them in his past journeys, and they all proceeded to greet him.

"It's nice to see you again, Ash. I hope you have learned something from our last encounter."

First, there was Lorelei, the master of Water and Ice-type Pokémon, a red-haired woman, quite tall and buxom, wearing glasses, a black sleeveless blouse and matching heels, a purple miniskirt highlighting her long legs.

"It'll be an honor to face you in battle again, young Ash. I want to test your skills after all these years."

The second member, Ash had already met him as a Gym Leader: Koga, the ninja master and Poison-types specialist. He was dressed in a black and purple ninja garb with a red sash around his waist, and save for a few more wrinkles in his face and having slightly shorter hair, he looked almost identical to the way Ash remembered him. From what he had heard, he had left his position as Gym Leader to his daughter.

"You've certainly grown, Ash. I sense you've grown much stronger."

The third was Bruno, the Fighting-type Pokémon Master. He was still as big and imposing as before, though his skin was noticeably less tanned than the first time they met. Nevertheless, his muscles looked as strong as ever, and he showed them off wearing only his training pants and black belt.

The fourth member was the only one Ash didn't know: a woman who looked about the same age as Lorelei, with bluish-silver hair and matching eyes. She was wearing a yellow top and matching sandals, as well as a pair of white, knee-length pants. Mr. Goodshow decided to break the ice between them.

"Ash, allow me to introduce you to our most recent addition to the Kanto Elite Four. This is Karen, Dark-type Pokémon specialist, and hailing from the Johto region."

"Pleased to meet you," the woman said. "All of my colleagues here have many good things to say about you, so I'm looking forward to test your skills by myself."

"Thank you." Ash smiled. "I don't know if I'm at your level yet, but I can assure you I'll do my best."

"Well, I need to go attend some business," Goodshow said. "If you guys were so kind to take Ash to the facilities?"

The Elite Four members nodded, and while Goodshow left his own way, they beckoned Ash to come with them. The trainer returned Charizard and followed them, while the crowd around him continued to scream and applaud, looking forward to see his matches.

…

Ash was taken to an area within the Indigo Stadium he had never seen before. From what he was told, it was an area reserved for trainers during official challenges to the Elite Four, where he could have everything he needed as well as be far away from prying eyes and crowds.

"We hope you are comfortable here," said Lorelei. "These will be your quarters for the duration of the challenge."

The place itself was a pretty big room, but it had a large comfy bed, a big couch in front of a giant TV screen, and a kitchen and dining table with a large fridge Ash hoped would be full to top. On the farthest corners he could see some gym equipment, a desktop PC, a videophone with a Pokéball transporter, and many more things. The Elite Four members proceeded to explain one by one everything Ash would have to his disposal.

"Since we've seen most of your matches, and we've been preparing to face you, it's only fair that you can do the same," said Karen as she pointed at the computer. "From here, you can have access to the Indigo Plateau's private Pokémon League server, containing our profiles and dozens of videos of our official battles, so you can have an idea of what awaits you."

"That's really considerate," said Ash. While he loved the surprise factor, the truth was that, in order to face Pokémon Masters of such caliber, he'd be better off preparing and knowing exactly against who and what he and his Pokémon would face.

"That door leads to a practice battlefield, in case you want to do some last minute training before the matches," Koga explained, pointing at the glass door at the room's further end.

"And you've got your own private gym if you wish to do some training for yourself," Bruno added, crossing his arms after pointing at the gym equipment, including weights, a treadmill and stuff.

"I suppose I could do some workout myself." The trainer nodded.

"If you need anything else, you can use the direct line and we'll send someone," said Lorelei. "We won't waste any more time, so take a rest and think which of us you want to face first. See you later."

And with that, the Pokémon Master foursome left the room. Ash went to leave his bag on the bed and then headed for the videophone. Indeed, he wanted to rest and have a feast, but first he had to make an important call to Pallet Town. He grabbed the handset and dialed the number, waiting for the communication signal.

A minute later, Delia showed up on screen. "Ketchum residence? Oh Ash! Hey honey!"

"Hey Mom," the trainer replied with a big grin. "Just calling you to let you know I've arrived in Indigo."

"Great!" the woman said. "Oh my, I almost can't believe this. It feels almost yesterday when my baby left Pallet Town to begin his journey. And look at you now."

"Yeah, I know," said Ash. "It's not gonna be easy, but I'm really excited, like never before!"

"I have no doubt; you've worked hard to get up to that point," said Delia. "So give it your all; I'll be rooting for you with all my heart, and so will everyone else here."

"Thanks a lot. I won't let you down, I promise," said Ash. "Love you, Mom."

"And I love you, Ash. Take care, and don't forget to change your underpants every day!"

"Mom!"

"Haha, sorry, couldn't resist. Bye!"

And with one last laugh, Delia and Ash ended the call. Whenever Ash thought his mom had _finally_ left that old habit of reminding him that, she just had to do it again. That said, embarrassing as it was, it brought him good memories, and made him see that, even though many things had changed, many others were still the same. Especially in regards to him, his Pokémon, his family, and his friends.

"Well, let's go eat something, then we're gonna check out that server," said Ash, going for the fridge. "Then we can start doing some training. Do you want a snack too, Pikachu?"

The fridge had everything Ash loved to eat, ready to be heated in the microwave, and there were packages of Pokémon food and snacks as well, all sorted by type and for preferences. No doubt they wouldn't starve over there, though Ash had the feeling they'd probably have to order some more later, since the way they were and with their usual appetite, the food would probably last half the week. And considering their upcoming challenge, they'd need _a lot_ of energy.

 _ **To be continued…**_

* * *

 **Author's notes:**

Hey, what's up? Well, here I am with something different. While I'm still planning to write future stories for the Pokémon Reset Bloodlines universe, I'm not leaving aside my own independent ideas, and here's one coming from the memories' drawer. Specifically, this is a rewrite of my original fic "El Último Escalón". It's not available in English, but the summary was about Ash facing the Elite Four, so I'm rewriting it adding the current mechanics, such as the Megas and Z-Moves. I'll keep a lot from the original to make my writing easier, but I'll try to improve what I can and correct the mistakes so it doesn't feel like it's just "the same but better".

A few things to clear up for those who follow me: first, this story is _not_ part of the same continuity as several others I've posted, beginning with "Friends and Rivals Alike" up to "Ash vs Paul: Lake Acuity Rematch", so if there's something inconsistent with them, it's justified, alright? Second, while I have more or less decided the teams the Elite Four will use against Ash, I'm open to suggestions for Ash's strategies, moves and/or Pokémon to be used. Beware: this is only for the course of the middle matches, since I've already decided how each of them is going to end and I'm not going to change that. Lastly, and this is for those who don't follow me, I don't use the four-move limit in my stories. Just saying because there are some people who ask about it.

Hope you guys enjoy this story, and if it's not too much to ask, I'd like if you left some comments instead of just faving or following. I like to interact with readers, you know? Until next time.


	2. Ash vs Lorelei (I)

**Pokémon: Aiming for Kanto's Summit**

 **By Fox McCloude.**

 **Disclaimer:** Pokémon and all related characters belong to Satoshi Tajiri, Nintendo and GAMEFREAK. All rights reserved.

 **Battle 1:** Ash vs Lorelei (I).

* * *

 _ **Indigo Stadium…**_

One of the perks of not staying in a Pokémon Center during the challenge was the fact he could stay away from crowds, and plan his strategies much better and at ease. Not to mention training on the practice field he had been facilitated.

Ash had spent most of the morning in front of the computer's monitor, accessing the Pokémon League's server. While he wasn't too much of a planner, barring some occasions at short-term, for that challenge he knew he couldn't rely only on improvisation, so he took advantage of the data at hand to set up some strategies. The challenge's rules had been established: he'd fight six-on-six battles, with a break once either side lost three Pokémon, and a two-day period between each match so he could reorganize his team and plan for his next opponent.

"If they're as tough as they say, the best I can do is to use a different team for each of them," Ash mused as he checked the profile of his first chosen opponent: Lorelei.

When he met her for the first time, he saw her using Jynx, Slowbro, Dewgong, and Cloyster, though he didn't get to see their full capacities. In the official battle videos he found in the server, he also saw a Lapras and a Mamoswine, along with the four aforementioned Pokémon to complete her team.

Ash still recalled their first encounter: on his visit to Mandarin Island he, still being a rash and impulsive rookie, made the mistake to challenge her to a battle, believing he could beat her… until she and her Cloyster wiped the floor with him and Pikachu without breaking a sweat. Back then, Ash learned a very important lesson about humility and understanding his Pokémon's feelings, and even nowadays Misty didn't waste the chance to rub it in his face, since he knew Lorelei was her personal heroine.

"Misty… of course!" he said, almost falling backwards along with his chair. He had just remembered something important.

Not wasting a second he ran up to the videophone and dialed the number for the Cerulean Gym. Pikachu jumped to his shoulder as they awaited for the signal, crossing their fingers so she would answer. It finally activated and a girl with long blond hair answered.

"Cerulean Gym, hello? Oh, like, if it isn't Ash!" Daisy exclaimed. "How've you been? It's been sooooooo long!"

"Good to see you too," the trainer replied. "Is Misty there? There's something important I need to ask her."

"Yeah sure, hold a sec. Misty, your darling boyfriend's calling you!"

"He's _not_ my boyfriend!" Ash heard in the background.

The voice was unmistakable, and as loud as he recalled. Less than a minute later, the redhead sat on the chair and pushed the blonde away. Her hair was damped and she was wearing a towel over her shoulders; from what it seemed she had just came out of the gym's pool.

"Hey Ash, what a surprise you're calling," she greeted him. "I figured you'd be at Indigo for your Elite Four challenge by now."

"I am, I arrived a few days ago," the Pallet trainer replied. "Hope you don't mind, but… I was hoping you could give me some tips."

"Oh, what's this?" Misty said with an inquisitive look. "Ash Ketchum, asking _me_ for tips? What's up with the world nowadays?"

"Come on, don't get started," he replied with a tinge of amusement. "Look, you know I'm about to face the strongest trainers in the region, one of them being Lorelei. If memory serves, you did some special training with her last year at the Sevii Islands, right?"

Asking that was more of a formality than anything. Misty hadn't wasted the chance to tell anybody willing (or unwilling) to listen when she got a call from Lorelei herself to train with her and possibly name her as a Kanto Elite Four candidate for when she retired. Misty had rejected the latter part for the time being, but being mentored by her heroine was a lifetime opportunity, and she didn't waste it.

"Well, how could I help you?" the Water-type specialist asked.

"If you trained under her, you must know her battling style better than anyone. Anything you know could help me beat her," Ash said.

"And why should I tell you?" she asked. "I know we're friends, but she's my heroine and mentor. I don't know if it's fair to give you an edge, and besides, this'll be her final battle before she retires."

"Misty…" Ash frowned at that comment.

A few seconds passed, while Misty did a little gesture of placing her finger on her chin and pretend she was thinking about it. She finally looked back at the screen, and laughed like only she knew how to.

"Hahahahahaha! Oh, Ash, you should have seen your face, it was priceless!" she said. "Just kidding, but listen up. Even during training, she went a little soft on me. I doubt she'll do that when you face her."

"Doesn't matter," Ash assured her. "Anything you know can be of help, and I'll be really grateful for it."

Misty smiled at his comment, and she immediately started relaying at him what she knew. Most of it were things she had noticed or done during her trainings with Lorelei, and every once in a while she'd stop for one or two anecdotes. Ash and Pikachu listened closely without missing any details, and even sharing a hearty chuckle whenever Misty told them something funny.

The conversation extended for about one hour, until Daisy came along to complain and ask Misty to stop hogging the phone. Misty warned Ash that despite having her fair share of sparring matches with Lorelei, she hadn't seen the Elite Four's team full capacities. In fact, she hadn't been able to see them all in action and some of them were never used for battling, like her Lapras. Despite everything, Ash thanked her for the info, promising to make good use of it.

"You better do," the redhead concluded. "I'll be watching you on TV, and if you lose, you'll hear of me."

"Don't worry, I'm not planning to lose anytime soon," the Pallet trainer replied. "Thanks a bunch, hope we see each other soon."

And with those words, Ash finally ended the call. The trainer went back to check Lorelei's profile on the computer, doing a double check. The time had come to choose his team to face her.

"Almost all of her main Pokémon are Water-types," Ash observed. "Well then, buddy, what do you say? You up for a rematch against Lorelei?"

"Pika!" Pikachu eagerly pumped his fists as he nodded.

The trainer glanced at his wrists. Inside each glove he kept hidden his Mega Ring and Z-Ring. They were his aces in the hole in case he fought against particularly strong Pokémon, and he had the feeling they'd be helpful. However, he could only use them once per battle and with one Pokémon each, so he'd have to choose wisely.

Some good options could be Fire, Fighting or Rock-type Pokémon to face against ice, aside from Pikachu and his electric attacks. Grass-types could also be viable if he was willing to take a chance with icy moves. Misty also suggested that a Water-type of his own could make for a nice surprise and variety element, and he actually had in mind who could fit the bill for that.

After a lot of thought, he finally made his choice. Aside from Pikachu, he'd have to fill five more slots and begin setting up his strategies. Once he did, he went back to the videophone, dialing Professor Oak's lab number.

"Hello? Ah, it's you, Ash. Ready for your big challenge?" the scientist asked after answering the call.

"As ready as I'll ever be," the trainer replied. "Professor, can you exchange some of my current Pokémon?"

"Sure, you just tell me which ones you need and I'll send them shortly."

Ash grabbed the Pokéballs he had and began sending them through the transporter. The Elite Four challenge was about to start and he couldn't afford to lose, let alone on his very first battle.

* * *

 _ **Days later…**_

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Indigo Plateau! Today we're starting the most important competitive event of the year: the Elite Four Challenge!" the announcer's booming voice said through the speakers. "Our challenger this year is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town! And his first opponent is the one and only Lorelei, in what's about to be her final official match before retirement! Let's give both of them a big hand!"

The Indigo Stadium, full up top of fans, exploded in cheers and applause. There were about two hundred thousand spectators on the stands, not to mention all those who were unable to get a ticket and were still outside trying to sneak in, and those who watched the match on TV. The challenge would be broadcasted in regional channels throughout Kanto, and in pay-per-view to other regions.

Ash's eyes were fixated on Lorelei. The first Elite Four member smiled at him as calm and pleasant as the water, but Ash knew perfectly she would shift to become hard and cold as ice once the match began.

"The battle between Lorelei of the Elite Four, and the challenger Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, is about to begin," the referee declared. "It'll be a full six-on-six battle and will end when all six Pokémon from either side are unable to keep fighting. Substitutions are only allowed when a Pokémon is defeated: if a Pokémon is recalled while the battle is on course it'll be disqualified and cannot be used for the rest of the match."

"Ash, this'll be my final official battle," said Lorelei. "So I hope we can make it a match to remember."

"I'll do my best to not to disappoint you," Ash replied. "We'll give it our all, and we won't pull any stops for anything."

Another of the rules for the challenge was that the Elite Four members would have the right to choose the terrain for the battlefield. The stadium's default arena opened wide to make way for a large, white battlefield, full of icy mountains with a large waterfall that created a small river and ended in a large pond that took up about a third of the total area. That confirmed it: Lorelei would make things hard for him by choosing a field where her team would have the advantage.

"The Elite Four member will begin the battle. Choose your Pokémon now!"

"I'm looking forward to see how much you've improved since our last meeting," said Lorelei as she grabbed her first Pokéball. "Cloyster, I choose you!"

"Cloyster!" The bivalve Pokémon appeared on the field, giving a challenging grin, and her icon on the scoreboard lit up under Lorelei's face.

Ash gazed at Pikachu standing next to him, giving a half-smirk. The rodent nodded: he clearly wanted revenge for that humiliating defeat against the same Pokémon that time so long ago. Ash outstretched his hand pointing him to jump forward, and without wasting a second the mouse entered the battlefield, his own icon on the board lighting up as well.

Lorelei's relaxed demeanor now had shifted to become ice and cold as ice, and smiled as if she already expected it.

"Start!" the referee declared as he raised his flags.

"Out of courtesy, Ash, please feel free to make the first move," said Lorelei.

Ash smirked in response. "If you say so. Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

"Pika-CHUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

The rodent opened the round using his favorite attack. Lorelei quickly realized the discharge's power and speed were much greater than the last time, as a result of the strength and experience both of them had gained over the years.

"Protect!" the Elite Four member replied.

The bivalve Pokémon closed her shell, and formed a green energy dome around herself, deflecting the Thunderbolt in full. The barrier dissipated as soon as Pikachu stopped firing electricity, and Lorelei decided to counter.

"Cloyster, Icicle Spear!"

"Cloyster!" At the command, Cloyster reopened her shell and the spikes covering it began glowing, firing a round of icy spikes against the electric rodent, raining over him like missiles and with such accuracy they could almost seem like homing projectiles.

"Use Agility and Quick Attack!" Ash called.

"Pika!"

Without missing a beat, Pikachu began running across the field leaving a white streak behind, moving as fast as he could to jump, and whenever he could shielding himself behind the ice pillars to avoid Cloyster's icicle rain. His intention was to get as close as possible to launch an electric attack to maximize the damage, but as they came closer, Cloyster's attacks hit much closer.

One of the spikes hit one of the ice pillars just when Pikachu stood on top, knocking him off-balance, and Lorelei was quick to take the chance for a direct offensive.

"Clamp!" she shouted. Cloyster obliged instantly and quickly jumped with the intent to catch Pikachu between her valves.

"Dodge and use Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted.

Right when Cloyster stood in front of him and violently shut her valves, Pikachu jumped backwards and dodged the attack by the hair, before unleashing her discharge. This time, Cloyster only managed to shut her shell just in time to reduce the electric attack's damage, though unlike before the effect was a lot more evident. Nevertheless, despite the outer damage, the oyster's inside was still unharmed.

"Impressive, but you'll take more than that to beat us," said Lorelei. "Cloyster, Blizzard!"

"Cloyster!" Once again Cloyster opened up her shell, unleashing a powerful cold wind all over the field.

"Pikachu, hang in there!"

The yellow mouse tried to cling to the ground with his small nails, but little by little Cloyster increased the wind's force, and he ultimately gave out and was sent flying backwards, crashing against one of the ice pillars.

"Hydro Pump!"

Cloyster kept open to fire a spiral water torrent, hitting Pikachu against the same ice pillar and keeping him there until the attack ceased. The rodent slid on the ground all soaked, but with no evident damage.

"Pikachu! Are you okay?" Ash asked with worry. Pikachu got back up and shook the water off like a dog.

"Pikapika!" he replied. That attack had been nothing to him, the battle had just begun.

"Well, I see you're not lacking in determination. Cloyster, use Aurora Beam!" Lorelei called.

At that call, Cloyster became enveloped in a multicolored aura and fired a powerful energy beam. Ash didn't have to give any calls for Pikachu to dodge: that had been the same attack that finished him off the last time. The rodent crouched over his hind legs and jumped to evade it, but Cloyster didn't stop there and kept firing one beam after another, causing a show of rainbow lights all over the field.

"This is amazing, ladies and gentlemen! Both Ash and Lorelei begin the match with a huge display of skill and power! Can Pikachu get out of this pinch?" the MC said.

Pikachu kept dodging, as he tried to get close enough to launch an electric attack, but every time he did, Cloyster shut her shell to reduce the damage. Trying to defeat her that way would take too long, and he couldn't allow the fight to drag on.

In a moment of distraction, Cloyster managed to catch Pikachu off-guard with Aurora Beam, which Lorelei capitalized on with another Hydro Pump for further damage. But instead of dodging, Ash choose to use it to launch a counterattack.

"Pikachu, charge through that Hydro Pump with Volt Tackle!"

Just as he recovered from the Aurora Beam, Pikachu ran at Cloyster as he coated himself in electric power, and when the water stream was about to hit him, he jumped straight at it. Lorelei's icy demeanor cracked for a moment as she saw Pikachu fly through the Hydro Pump, spinning like a drill still covered in the Volt Tackle's energy, and as she was firing her attack, Cloyster was unable to close in time before she took a direct blow to the face.

"Cloyster!" Lorelei shouted.

"Cloys…" The mollusk pulled back and began giving off sparks when Pikachu bounced off her and spun around to land. She tried to move again but her body didn't respond: she was paralyzed.

"Let's take our chance, Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash called.

"Protect!" Lorelei shouted in turn.

By a miracle, Cloyster managed to raise the protective shield right when Pikachu fired his discharge, sparing herself from taking more damage. However, she couldn't rely on it continuously, and that paralysis could cause her trouble. For a moment, Lorelei's icy glare turned relaxed as water, as she took a deep breath.

"Cloyster, use Rest to recover."

The oyster nodded, and shutting her valves again, as a healing aura began covering her. All the damage she had taken, along with the inflicted paralysis ailment began regenerating slowly.

Ash clenched his fists and teeth: his efforts to inflict damage had been for naught.

"Pikachu, keep attacking, we have to cause as much damage as possible before she wakes up!" the Pallet trainer shouted.

Immediately, Pikachu began firing Thunderbolts one after another, trying to recover some of the inflicted damage from before. Cloyster remained asleep for a few more seconds while Pikachu assaulted her with his electric attacks, until she finally woke up.

"Cloyster!"

And without warning, she fired a Blizzard, but not spread across the field, instead focused on a small area to hit Pikachu with an accurate and solid blow, and sending him fly towards the ice pillars, even breaking _through_ them.

Lorelei quickly regained her icy demeanor before giving out her next command. "Take Down."

Cloyster jumped at the helpless electric rodent, delivering a hard, full body tackle, making sure to hit him with the horn on her head. Pikachu cried out in pain and fell to the ground on his bell, but making an effort he got back up, giving sparks from his cheeks and ready to continue.

The Elite Four trainer smiled. Once upon a time that attack would have been enough to leave Pikachu out of the game, but the rodent was still standing and with energy to keep going. She could see it in his face: he shared the same determination and drive to win as his trainer, and he wouldn't go down until he had given everything he had.

"Cloyster, use Icicle Spear once more!" Lorelei called. Cloyster began charging up the spikes on her shell and fired her icy missiles even faster than before.

"Deflect them with Iron Tail!" Ash called.

"Chuuuu-PIKA!" Pikachu's tail took on a metallic glow, and right when Cloyster's projectiles were about to get him, he jumped to avoid the first round, and smashed the second with a violent tail slap, causing ice shards to rain all over the battlefield.

"Aurora Beam!"

"Electroweb!"

Both trainers gave their commands almost at the same time, and both Pokémon fired their attacks at once. The electric sphere collided head on with the multicolored beam, exploding in a net to try and contain it, and the resulting explosion caused Pikachu and Cloyster to be knocked backwards and fall on their backs.

"Come on Pikachu, stand up! You can do it!" Ash cheered him on.

Making a supreme effort, Pikachu got back and his feet. The battle was turning out even harder than they imagined, but they couldn't give up yet. In turn, Lorelei remained silent, but her icy glare remained set on Cloyster, confident that she would get back up as well.

"Cloyster, use Rest again!" the Elite Four trainer called.

Ash and Pikachu frowned simultaneously. No matter how much damage they dealt, it'd be for nothing if Cloyster recovered from it. It seemed like the only chance was to hit her hard with a powerful attack so she wouldn't get back up.

"Should we use this?" Ash wondered aloud, rolling up his left glove to reveal the Z-Ring with the Electrium Z on it. "No, it's too soon for that. There's another thing we can do. Pikachu, attack Cloyster's shell with Iron Tail!"

"Chuuuu-PIKA!"

While Cloyster continued using Rest to heal her wounds, Pikachu ran with his tail coated in metal, and began striking at her shell. As expected, the tough armor endured the hit, but the electric mouse didn't let up and kept hitting, over and over again.

At first Lorelei questioned their actions. Pikachu's tail strikes did nothing but slightly shake Cloyster without causing damage. But then she noticed something: Pikachu was attacking the same area, specifically by aiming his strikes at a very specific point. And although slowly, the crack was becoming bigger and more visible with each hit, and with Cloyster fast asleep, she couldn't do anything to defend herself.

And then it happened: one last direct tail strike caused a huge crack to open on Cloyster's shell, causing the Elite Four member to gasp in shock.

"No, Cloyster!"

"Awesome, Pikachu!" Ash shouted as he punched forward. "Now use Thunder on that same spot!"

"PIKAAAAAAA!"

The Electric Pokémon jumped at the hole he had created on Cloyster's shell, and he summoned a lightning bolt to channel through it, bypassing the oyster's impenetrable defenses and causing her soft and fragile inner body to feel the full power of a hundred thousand volts point-blank.

There was a huge explosion and lightning bolts flew around the entire field, raising a huge cloud smoke. Pikachu jumped out of it and landed on all fours, gasping and waiting for the result in expectation.

"Cloys… ter…"

As the smoke cleared out, they saw Cloyster was awake. She was still standing, but much worse than before: that last attack had caused her more damage than any of the others during the match, and she was giving off sparks again, more than before. Ash was surprised to see she was still conscious, and Lorelei for her part, was surprised to see such a small rodent to pack such a punch.

"What power…" the Elite Four member muttered.

However, although Cloyster was still standing, she wouldn't be for long. Rest could heal the damage received and status ailments, but not fatigue or weariness from the effort of using it. Enduring that attack directly had been quite a feat, but pushed her to the edge, ready to fall with the next blow.

Ash for his part didn't waste any time: they had to take Cloyster down while they still could before she could recover. If an opponent was one breath away from going down, they had to blow on them before they got a second wind.

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack and Iron Tail!"

"Cloyster, you know what to do!" Lorelei called.

In their hurry for finishing their opponent off, both Ash and Pikachu missed the purple flash that came out of Cloyster's horn for a split second. The oyster Pokémon tried to shut her valves and place the unharmed side of her shell in front of Pikachu, in one last ditch effort to protect herself, but the Iron Tail slashed between them vertically like a knife opening an oyster, hitting her right in the middle of the eyes. Seconds later they opened again, Cloyster let out a small wince and slumped sideways, out of the fight.

"Cloyster is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Pikachu is the winner!"

"What a first round, ladies and gentlemen! Lorelei and Cloyster displayed an amazing endurance, but in the end they succumbed to Ash and Pikachu's attack power!" the MC stated, while the crowd erupted in cheering. At the same time, Cloyster's icon on the scoreboard darkened completely.

Ash made an effort to smile. They had won the first round, and they didn't have to use their Z-Move. That was good, and taking an early lead would help them in the long run. One down, five more to go, and Pikachu was still in the game. He had to keep up his plan of winning the battles one on one.

Pikachu, for his part, despite being tired, felt quite good for getting some revenge for that defeat so many years ago.

Lorelei, far from getting discouraged, simply recalled her fallen Cloyster and grabbed her next Pokéball. She gave her a silent thanks for her effort and faced her opponent.

"Congratulations Ash, not many trainers are capable of beating me on the first round, even with difficulty," she said as she took on her icy glare again. "But let's see what you do with this. Jynx, your turn!"

The ball opened, revealing the blond, humanoid Pokémon with red body, purple skin and large lips. The referee immediately raised a flag to Ash's side.

"Challenger, do you wish to change Pokémon?" he asked.

Ash weighed his options. Even with Pikachu still in the game and not having used his ace in the hole, it didn't seem a good idea to send him against a Pokémon at full energy, and if all of Lorelei's Pokémon de Lorelei were just as strong as or stronger than Cloyster, it would be better to pull him off so he could rest.

"Pikachu, return!" Ash called.

The mouse quickly rushed back to his trainer and sat by his feet, exhaling a deep breath. That round against Cloyster had been too tiresome, and he needed a break before going back to fight.

Ash tapped his Pokéballs, trying to decide who to send now. He recalled what Misty told him about Lorelei's Jynx: she favored long-ranged, high-powered attacks to keep the opponent at bay, but she could be put against the ropes with quick and strong melee strikes. He had the perfect opponent for her.

"Infernape, I choose you!" Ash shouted as he threw the ball.

"Infernape!" The fire monkey appeared on the field, pounding on his chest with his fists for a big entrance. Unfortunately, said entrance was ruined when he suddenly tensed and a purple shade tinted his skin.

"Infernape, what's wrong?" Ash asked, glancing at the smiling Lorelei.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Ash. Your Pikachu defeated my Cloyster, but not before she would leave you a small gift," the Elite Four trainer said.

Ash wondered for a moment what she meant, and then facepalmed as he recalled the last blow. That purple flash: Cloyster had managed to set up Toxic Spikes before Pikachu knocked her out. A 'gift' indeed, and to make it worse, none of the Pokémon he had chosen for this battle was airborne. Thus, once they set foot on the field, they'd get poisoned like Infernape.

Or maybe that was Lorelei's plan. Even though Infernape had been poisoned, there was something he could do to eliminate the spikes, and avoid that future gift for the rest of his Pokémon. As soon as the referee gave the signal, Ash knew he had to get a move on before the poison did its work. The sooner he acted, the better.

"Infernape, Flamethrower, now!"

The obvious action, Ash opened up with a Fire-type attack to start with an edge. Despite being afflicted by the poison, Infernape inhaled deeply and fired a powerful flaming stream at Jynx, who simply stood still.

"Jynx, Light Screen!" Lorelei called.

"Jynx!" The Ice Pokémon pushed her hands forward and raised an energy barrier to protect herself from the Flamethrower. Once Infernape stopped shooting fire, both he and Ash felt a burning anger as they saw Jynx was practically unscathed. It looked more like she had used Protect as opposed to Light Screen. Alright, if special attacks didn't work, they'd go for physical ones.

"Infernape, Flame Wheel!"

"Ape!" Infernape leapt into the air and setting himself ablaze he turned into a living fireball, rolling across the field towards Jynx at full speed. She held her ground like before, waiting for the incoming attack.

"Stop him with Psychic," Lorelei said with a cold tone.

"Jynx…" Jynx started glowing with a blue aura that raised her hair in a rather creepy way.

When Infernape was halfway across the field, Jynx first raised a hand to lift him off the ground, causing him to roll in place until he realized he wasn't going forward. As the monkey was busy being shocked, Jynx thrust her other hand forward to deliver a psychic push, launching him towards one of the frozen rocks and crashing so hard it reduced to small bits.

The primate rubbed his back after the blow and then jumped back up, and then was afflicted by the poison, but aside from that he seemed just fine.

"Blizzard, now!" Lorelei shouted.

However, while Jynx was inhaling, Ash quickly yelled a command on pure instinct, hoping that it would work. "Quick, use Dig!"

If Cloyster's Blizzard was already strong, Jynx's could easily make it feel like a summer breeze. Fortunately, Infernape managed to dive into the icy ground and escape. Jynx stopped blowing for a bit, and both she and Lorelei stood on alert, glancing everywhere to determine where Infernape would come out.

That would matter little, considering what Ash planned to do while Infernape was still underground.

"Flare Blitz!"

Lorelei briefly widened her eyes, but then she realized what was going on: the frozen ground began turning red and burn, even causing the water in the pond and the river to boil. In fact, Jynx had to skip around as she felt the burning ground under her feet, and then a fiery blast erupted right behind her, when Infernape came out violently.

"Mach Punch!" Ash called.

Infernape jumped at Jynx and delivered a right hook at her face as soon as she turned around. The blow was so hard it knocked her into the boiling pond, causing her to cry out in pain and blow steam.

"Flamethrower, now!"

Infernape exhaled another fire attack, this time at shorter distance. Even though the Light Screen was still in effect, the distance helped cause more damage, and it was clear this time she did feel the heat.

"Teleport!" Lorelei called.

Fighting off the flames, Jynx vanished in a flash of multicolored light out of the lake, reappearing on the other side of the field. As soon as he saw her, Ash decided to get out of there, and called for Infernape to use Dig to go underground again, but Lorelei wouldn't allow that.

"Disable!"

And right before he dove into the ground, a blue flash surrounded Infernape, leaving him still and disoriented before he could use his move. The primate was so disconcerted he couldn't react before Jynx Teleported in front of him, shocking him.

"Psychic and Ice Punch," Lorelei called in a gelid tone.

Said and done. Jynx caught Infernape with her psychic powers, slamming him against the rocks a couple of times. Then, she dragged him back, coating one of her hands in white-blue energy, and then delivered an uppercut to the jaw, knocking him backwards. Worse of all, when he got back up, the poison afflicted him again, and Lorelei didn't seem to be done yet.

"Lift one of those boulders with Psychic."

The Elite Four member pointed at a particularly big boulder, and Jynx raised it over her head to throw it. Ash clenched his fists, trying to think about what to do. For now, they weren't unable to go underground and use Flare Blitz from below again.

But maybe there was another way, though he had to act quickly before Lorelei launched her next attack…

"Counter Shield!" Ash yelled.

Infernape fired off a Flamethrower and started rolling to in Flame Wheel simultaneously. The spinning effect served to break the rock when Jynx threw it, reducing it to pebbles, and the fire whips it generated with the Flamethrower caught the Ice-type off-guard, managing to graze her and causing her to lose focus for a moment. After landing again, Infernape kept rolling until hitting his foe, rolling over her and turning around to come back for another go.

"Way to go, keep it up!" Ash shouted. "Use Mach Punch!"

"Ice Punch!" Lorelei countered.

Infernape stopped rolling and charged with a leap, his fist glowing with white power. Jynx did the same with a freezing punch, and both of them clashed head on. There was an energy flash for a second, and then a violent burst of energy that sent them both flying backwards. This time it was Jynx who crashed against the boulder, as during the clash Infernape's punch managed to overpower hers briefly, while the monkey made a three-point landing.

Both trainers and their Pokémon took a brief respite, and Ash surmised the situation. What Misty said was true: Jynx was good in long-ranged fighting, but she needed to focus and in close quarters combat she was comparatively at a disadvantage. If he could get close enough to deliver the ultimate beatdown, he could perhaps win the round.

"Jynx, use Water Pulse!"

Jynx began creating a water sphere between her hands, making it bigger than normal. It seemed Lorelei had decided to leave the games behind and end that round quickly. Ash saw for a moment that Infernape emitted a blue flash, meaning that Dig was no longer disabled.

"Underground Flare Blitz, quick!" Ash shouted.

Quickly, Infernape buried underground, and the water ball barely grazed his tail. Moving as fast as he could, Jynx could barely see the red-hot earth coming at her, before Infernape burst out of the ground like a living eruption, knocking her through the air, though she managed to land safely on her feet.

"Jynx, Blizzard!"

"Infernape, Flamethrower!"

The fire stream and the cold current clashed head on. Both attacks began trying to push one another back, with the Flamethrower winning at first, but then the Blizzard started gaining more and more ground, coming dangerously close.

"Give it your all, Jynx!" Lorelei called.

Finally, with a single blow, Jynx's Blizzard won over and sent Infernape flying through the air. Jynx Teleported to the other side of the field to catch up to him, and delivered a brutal punch at the monkey's back, crashing him against the rocks.

The referee almost declared him unable to battle, but against all odds, he rose up again. And when Lorelei saw the monkey's red eyes literally burning in flames, she knew it was bad news.

"INFERNAPE!" Launching a powerful cry upwards, he exploded like a volcano, causing the ground around him to get red and shake. His ability Blaze had just triggered, and Ash realized he had to deliver the finishing blow on Jynx while the power lasted.

"Infernape, use Flamethrower!" Ash called.

"Jynx, use Blizzard at full power!" Lorelei countered.

Jynx inhaled, but before she could shoot her icy wind, Infernape went ahead, shooting a fire stream stronger and wider than before, leaving her half-cooked in the process.

"Close Combat!" Ash shouted, determined to press on the offensive before Jynx could recover.

Infernape jumped in front of Jynx while she was coughing smoke due to the burns from the previous Flamethrower, delivering a barrage of punches and kicks to every inch he could reach. The beatdown lasted for about ten seconds, during which Lorelei couldn't do anything but watch how her Pokémon served as a punching bag, ending with left uppercut to lift her up into the air.

Ash then knew it was time for the final blow. "Finish her, Infernape, use the Meteoric Flare Blitz!"

While Jynx was still falling down, Infernape jumped after her, grabbing her below the armpits, holding tight onto her before setting on fire. The Blaze's power boost caused the Flare Blitz's flames to turn blue, and Lorelei then realized why Ash had called it that way: Infernape became a living fire meteor and crashed against one of the ice mounts with one, reducing it to pieces with the impact.

For a few seconds, both combatants were left in expectation, until they saw the result. Jynx laid bruised and charred on the ground, while Infernape was supporting himself over his left knee, feeling both the poison and the attack's recoil, but refusing to go down.

"Jynx is unable to battle! Infernape wins!" the referee declared.

"Yeah! Two down, four more to go!" Ash celebrated as he pumped his fists.

Infernape turned around to give his trainer a thumbs up, though Ash knew how high the cost of that victory had been. Between the poison and the damage he had sustained, there was no way he could reliably keep fighting for the rest of the match, so he'd quickly recall him to leave him on standby. For now he had to stick to his plan to defeat his opponent in one-on-one bouts if possible.

Simultaneously, both trainers recalled their Pokémon and grabbed their next Pokéballs.

"A great round, Ash, though I can see your Infernape didn't come out well. A wise call to recall him now," Lorelei said.

"I want to win, but I won't let my Pokémon to get pointlessly injured if I can help it," the Pallet trainer declared.

The Elite Four member smiled. "I see you're not failing on the empathy department. Dewgong, you're next!"

Lorelei's next Pokémon was her sea lion. Ash glanced at him carefully: according to Misty, that Dewgong was Lorelei's starter Pokémon, which meant he'd have years of experience on his side. Even more than he and Pikachu, no doubt. She had also said he loved using Icicle Spear as a signature finishing move, so he also made a note of that.

"Let's keep up the pace. Typhlosion, I choose you!"

"Typhlosion!" Ash's second Fire-type starter, his Quilava's final form, appeared on the field. His flames had grown bigger and more intense along the years, and he was determined to give his trainer another victory.

"Dewgong versus Typhlosion, start!" the referee declared.

"Typhlosion, begin with Eruption!"

Typhlosion gave a fury cry and flared up, before charging at Dewgong. Lorelei regained her icy demeanor and decided not to take any chances.

"Dewgong, dive into the water and stay there!"

"Gong!"

Dewgong rolled aside to avoid Typhlosion's charge, and then slid across the ice to get into the pond and escape her foe. Upon failing the charge, Typhlosion skidded and was forced to hold onto the ice with his claws and turn around to glance at the pond.

"Go in there too and use Swift!" Ash cried out.

Much to everyone's shock, Typhlosion roared and turned off his flames to dive into the pond. A while later, Dewgong was blasted out of the water by a barrage of golden stars, followed by a very soaked Typhlosion who immediately shook off the water and flamed on once more.

"Flamethrower!"

"Frost Breath!" Lorelei countered.

At the same time Typhlosion fired off a torrent of flames, Dewgong followed suit with a blast of freezing wind. Both began pushing each other, and for a moment it seemed like the Flamethrower would win out, but the Frost Breath won out in the end, hitting Typhlosion in the face. He was pushed back a bit, but other than a small frost layer on his nose and eyebrows that his flames melted, it caused no lasting effect.

"Icicle Spear!" Lorelei called.

"Gong!" Dewgong opened his mouth and summoned a few ice spikes, firing them like missiles at Typhlosion. The Fire-type tried to dodge as best as he could, but some managed to hit and knocked him off-balance, causing him to pull back even more.

"Charge with Flame Wheel!" Ash cried out.

Typhlosion began running as he flamed on and rolled full speed across the field at Dewgong. Lorelei could see he was a lot faster at rolling than Infernape, but Dewgong was able to dodge by rolling sideways and kept on his ice spikes barrage.

"Dodge and use Eruption!"

Typhlosion's flames burned up once more, and he dodged the spikes jumping from side to side. The Fire-type managed to close the distance until he was face-to-face with the sea lion. He then exploded like a living volcano, sending Dewgong flying.

"Way to go, Typhlosion, Flamethrower!"

With Dewgong still in the air, Typhlosion fired another attack at full power, hitting Dewgong right on the belly. As soon as he landed, a flame burst surrounded the sea lion, causing Ash to smirk as he saw Dewgong afflicted by the burn, but Lorelei didn't seem concerned in the least.

At it soon became evident why. "Rain Dance."

"Gong!" Dewgong howled, and a black spiral cloud began forming above the battlefield. Seconds later, rain began to fall over them. It started soft, but it soon turned into a downpour, forcing Ash to adjust his hat's visor.

The trainer saw Typhlosion was forced to take cover as the rain put out his flames, while the burn he had inflicted on Dewgong had vanished. So that was why she had called for Rain Dance: Dewgong possessed Hydration.

"Water Pulse," Lorelei called as she pointed forward.

Dewgong formed the water sphere and fired it as fast as he could. Despite the adverse weather, Typhlosion managed to dodge it, and Ash called for an Aerial Ace counter. The attack hit true and knocked Dewgong away, allowing him to breathe a little.

"This is bad, Typhlosion can't use well his fire attacks in this rain," Ash muttered. "That just leaves…"

Yes, Typhlosion had the weather against him for almost all of his attacks, but there was one he could have a bigger advantage with the rain. However, they had developed it not long ago as an ace in the hole, and they hadn't been able to perfect it. Would it be worth it to take the risk?

"Typhlosion, get close with Quick Attack!" the challenger shouted.

Typhlosion slid across the ice at full speed, leaving a white trail behind. The water was making it somewhat slippery, but he managed to close the distance, though Dewgong kept dodging and countered with Frost Breath, knocking him against one of the ice mounds.

"Smart Strike!" Lorelei called.

"Wild Charge!" Ash countered.

Dewgong charged with a glowing horn, while Typhlosion gave off sparks and then coated himself in a golden electricity aura. Both Pokémon collided head on, but Typhlosion won out the clash and sent Dewgong, even inflicting paralysis although the rain quickly washed it away.

"Aerial Ace!" the Pallet trainer shouted.

Leaving a white streak trail, Typhlosion charged for another sure-strike against Dewgong while he was still shocked, crashing him against another ice mound.

"Good, now use Wild Charge again!" Ash shouted.

Again, Typhlosion rushed with the electric tackle, taking advantage of the rain's power boost. The attack hit true once more, and for a moment it seemed like they were getting the upper hand. However, the fatigue and racked up damage, adding the recoil for using Wild Charge, were starting to take its toll.

It quickly became evident when he attempted in a third time to keep pressing on the offensive, but the charge was sloppier than the previous ones, giving Dewgong the chance to dodge and counter with Water Pulse. Typhlosion was trapped in the great water bubble, and when it exploded, his eyes were spinning and his head waved around in complete disorientation.

"Typhlosion, no!" Ash shouted.

"Dewgong, get safe into the water and use Rest!" Lorelei commanded.

While Typhlosion was still in a daze, Dewgong jumped into the pond. Ash didn't dare to give a command: his Pokémon was confused and had begun crashing against the ice walls as he tried to find Dewgong, ignoring that he was safe in the water recovering his health. Cloyster had already caused problems for Pikachu with that move, and now Dewgong had caused all his efforts to go to waste again.

A couple minutes later, Dewgong resurfaced and landed on top of the same mound Typhlosion was about to attack.

"Let's end this now," Lorelei said. "Dewgong, Icicle Spear!"

"GONG!" Dewgong gave a loud howl and summoned the icicle rain to bombard Typhlosion. The first thing he did was dropping them to create a barrier to trap him in while he still ran around, and then in the middle, and then dropped some more in the center over the helpless Fire-type starter, who let out cries of pain and desperation all the while.

Once the ice dust and the smoke cleared out, the competitors saw the result. Typhlosion laid with his arms spread over the ice, his flames put out and ice shards all over his back. That made it clear for Ash why Dewgong liked using Icicle Spear as his signature attack.

"Typhlosion is unable to battle, Dewgong is the winner!" the referee called.

And thus, the battle turned 2-1 in Ash's favor. Though it was more like a 2-2, considering that Infernape wasn't in condition to withstand another round if he came out. The trainer weighed his options, watching Lorelei's Dewgong as the Rain Dance began to stop.

"Pika, pikapika!" Pikachu said as he tugged his pants' leg.

"You wanna go back?" Ash asked. "Are you sure?"

"Pika, pikachu!" The rodent nodded, pointing at Ash's wrist. Of course, he still had that ace up his sleeve, or glove.

"Alright, back to action, Pikachu!"

Pikachu jumped back to the battlefield, standing face to face against Dewgong, whose damage from the previous bout had fully healed. He'd have to capitalize on the fatigue to win the round and end the first half with an advantage.

"Start with Electroweb!" Ash called.

"Frost Breath!" Lorelei countered.

Pikachu generated the electric sphere, spreading it into net form at Dewgong. Lorelei soon realized that Ash's intent was aimed to try and restrict Dewgong's movements and then finish her off with a stronger electric attack. The icy breath froze the electric web as soon as it materialized, causing it to break apart into multiple shards.

"Iron Tail!"

"Aqua Tail!"

Following their trainers' commands, Pikachu and Dewgong locked into a tail duel, splashing water and giving metallic flashes all over. Pikachu was the one attacking the most, jumping and spinning as he tried to hit Dewgong's head, while the latter just occasionally tried to flip around trying to trip him over the ice and send him to a more vulnerable position.

By a lucky blow, Dewgong managed to knock Pikachu off balance and with another tail strike, he pushed him to the edge of the waterfall. Next, he charged with a Smart Strike to cap it off.

There was no way to dodge that strike, but they could use that on their favor.

"Pikachu, hold onto Dewgong when he hits you!"

And so he did: as soon as the horn hit him, Pikachu held onto Dewgong's neck with all limbs, and also sank his teeth on his skin, causing the sea lion to howl in pain.

"Use Thunder!" Ash cried out.

"PIKAAAAAAAA!"

Using the last leftovers of the rain clouds, Pikachu summoned a lightning bolt on top of them, zapping Dewgong at full power and regaining some of the damage lost after the use of Rest. However, Dewgong wasn't Lorelei's first Pokémon for naught, and his years of experience had made him develop a tolerance for electric attacks.

After the Thunder ceased, Dewgong finally shook Pikachu off, and fired a Water Pulse attack. Pikachu countered firing an Electroweb that ensnared the water sphere, causing it to explode.

"Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted, and Pikachu quickly unleashed his discharge at Dewgong.

"Smart Strike!" Lorelei countered.

Right before the attack hit, Dewgong's horn glowed in metal and deflected Pikachu's attack, sparing the Water-type from any damage. Ash gritted his teeth: the tactic of using a Steel-type move to deflect an electric attack had grown quite popular, and it made sense that the veterans like Lorelei had adopted it.

"Icicle Spear!" the Elite Four trainer called, and Dewgong began unleashing another barrage of ice spikes.

"Dodge with Agility and Quick Attack!" Ash retorted.

Pikachu began running around the field at full speed, appearing and disappearing from sight as he left a white trail behind. His speed and small size served to dodge the icicle rain by the hair, until he finally spotted an opening to charge at Dewgong head on. The sea lion took the blow right to the face and the mouse landed on the other side, ready to turn around and continue his attack.

"Volt Tackle!"

"Piiiikapikapikapikapika! PIKA!"

Pikachu rammed Dewgong for the second time, coated in electricity to maximize damage. Smart Strike could deflect an electric attack from a distance, but a physical one or at point-blank range was a different story.

"Use Icicle Spear to create a barrier!" Lorelei shouted.

Dewgong howled again and pulled back to summon his attack. Rather than making the icicles rain over Pikachu as he ran, he summoned them in front of himself to create an ice wall, and that way when Pikachu was about to get to him, he struck the wall instead of Dewgong. That said, he had enough power to pierce through it, although he lost speed with the crash, giving Dewgong the chance to dodge.

"Water Pulse!"

With Pikachu dizzy after he struck the ice, Dewgong launched a large water bubble that pushed him until he crashed against one of the ice mounds near the pond. The blow didn't knock Pikachu out, but Ash could see from afar he had been left confused from his spinning eyes.

"Pikachu, no!" Ash shouted.

"It's time to end this. Sheer Cold!"

And with Lorelei's command, Dewgong howled again while an icy blue aura covered him. Instantly, the air around him started to get cold, generating what looked like a spike glacier spreading across the field, heading for the electric mouse. Ash felt a chill: if that attack managed to hit, it'd be the end for Pikachu.

"Pikachu, protect yourself somehow!"

Ash didn't know if Pikachu managed to hear him, and the last thing he saw before the ice river devoured him, was him forming a sphere on his tail. Dewgong ceased his attack and the glacier finally stopped, even freezing part of the pond and the waterfall, leaving a small ice mountain where Pikachu used to be. The referee approached to check the result, and then…

"Pikachu…" Ash muttered, hoping for the best.

Before the referee could check, the ice mountain began to crack. But it didn't just crack at random: it cracked forming a cage-like pattern, making way for an electric net forming a dome that spread the ice before it made contact, much to Ash's relief and Lorelei's shock.

"I can't believe this," the Elite Four member said, clearly surprised.

"Pikachu, are you okay?" the Pallet trainer asked, and Pikachu shook his head, recovering the focus in his eyes.

"Pikachu!" He nodded as he faced Dewgong again.

"Impressive. I never saw an Electroweb being used as a protection before," Lorelei said as she adjusted her glasses. "But I can see Pikachu is drained, he won't hold on much longer."

"We still have one last card to play." Ash uncovered his left wrist to reveal his Z-Ring and crystal. "Let's do it, buddy!"

Pikachu and Ash crossed their arms in front of their bodies as the ring began to glow irradiating its power. Dewgong was gasping after using Sheer Cold and barely could catch her breath, giving Ash and Pikachu enough time to perform the poses to charge the Z-Move.

"Full power!" Ash shouted as he pulled his fist backwards. "GIGAVOLT HAVOC!"

"PIKAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Delivering the punch, Pikachu fired off the electric sphere at Dewgong, who couldn't do anything to dodge or block; he simply shut his eyes bracing for the inevitable. The sphere hit dead on and exploded making a show of lightning everywhere, forcing both Ash and Lorelei (as well as the rest of the crowd to cover their eyes). Seconds later, the smoke cleared, revealing the result.

Dewgong laid on the ground, charred and giving off sparks. He could have a tolerance to electric attacks, but after such power he wouldn't get back up for quite a while.

"Dewgong is unable to battle, Pikachu is the winner! Elite Four member Lorelei has lost three Pokémon, so we're having the mid-battle break right away!"

"What a great battle, ladies and gentlemen! After an incredible power display, Pikachu emerges victorious to put his trainer three against one! But this isn't over! We'll be taking a break and then we'll resume this exciting match!"

While Lorelei returned her fallen Dewgong, Ash skated through the field to pick Pikachu up, as the rodent dropped himself on his rear due to his exhaustion, exhaling in relief when his trainer carried him in his arms.

"Well done, buddy, you've earned a long rest," Ash said.

The trainer looked at the scoreboard while he heard the crowd's murmurs quieting down slowly. While the score was officially 3-1 on his favor, with Infernape poisoned and Pikachu having used his last energy volts for the Z-Move, they were hardly in condition to return to the battle. That being the case, he'd keep up with his plan to defeat Lorelei's remaining Pokémon one-on-one.

He then glanced at his opponent on the other side of the field, who nodded in approval, and he smiled in response. He was halfway through with that battle, but he still had three Pokémon more to overcome in order to defeat Lorelei. He had used one of his trump cards, but he still had another in wait, and as soon as it was necessary, he'd use it.

 _ **To be continued…**_

* * *

 **Author's notes:**

Okay, sorry for the lateness, but well, now the Elite Four Challenge has officially begun. Alright, my original plan was to do each full battle per chapter, but I finally decided to split them in half with the break in-between so they don't feel too long to read (and for me to translate easier). Also, I ended up changing a lot more than I expected the sequence for the battles, so at least for this one I won't be able to rely on the original story for this version as much as I would have liked. Then again, that'd make it less predictable for those who read it, at least in Spanish.

So, I'm sorry to leave you hanging for the conclusion, but I'll focus on the next part as soon as I can, and also I'll be writing another Pokémon Reset Bloodlines oneshot in parallel with the second half of this battle, plus having to balance things out with work and studies in real life. It's not easy to balance everything out, you know. Thank you **Hall Gowrt, w00za, fatty635,** **FenrirUnchained** and **Alphadelta-23** for the reviews, and those who just faved and commented… thanks too, but I'd appreciate if you commented too. I like to talk, and I always reply, so don't be afraid!

 **P.S:** There's a little nod to one of my recent Pokémon stories in this chapter, though that one is only in Spanish. Anyone up to try and guess what it is? I might give you a little surprise if you get it right.


	3. Ash vs Lorelei (II)

**Pokémon: Aiming for Kanto's Summit**

 **By Fox McCloude.**

 **Disclaimer:** Pokémon and all related characters belong to Satoshi Tajiri, Nintendo and GAMEFREAK. All rights reserved.

 **Battle 1:** Ash vs Lorelei (II).

* * *

 _ **Cerulean Gym…**_

Misty was at the edge of her seat, her fists clenched anxiously. The match was turning out to be amazing, and she was still somewhat split on who she should be rooting for. On one side, there was her former traveling companion and lifelong friend, and on the other, her great heroine and mentor.

"Sheesh, I wish both of them could win," she muttered.

Unfortunately that wasn't possible. According to the Elite Four Challenge's rules, the challenger had to achieve a victory in the match: a draw wasn't enough. The Elite Four's standards were much higher than those of the Gym Leaders after all.

"Well, well, like, what's so cool on TV today?" Violet suddenly appeared behind her, talking directly to her ear.

"Gah!" the redhead almost jumped off her seat. "Violet, I've told you not to do that!"

"Sorry, little sis," the bluenette replied as she glanced at the screen. "Oh, so your darling boyfriend. No wonder you look so excited."

"Ash is not my boyfriend," Misty replied. "He's my best friend, it's different."

"Same difference. So, like, how's the match going?"

"Well, so far Ash's winning three to one, though his Pokémon didn't end up well, so might as well be a three to three," Misty replied. "And Lorelei has yet to bring out the big guns."

"Hmm… so do you think Ash can win?"

Misty didn't answer immediately. Talking about real odds, from what she had seen so far, Ash had certainly improved a lot as a trainer, and his Pokémon had grown much stronger. But defeating an Elite Four member required more than just strength alone. You needed to have strategy and think outside the box.

If Lorelei was using her usual team, her three remaining Pokémon would be her Slowbro, Lapras and Mamoswine, though not necessarily in that order. She had no idea to know which Pokémon Ash would use against them, assuming he'd paid attention to what she said via phone the other day. And despite having trained under her, she had never actually seen her using her real full strength.

"If he does what I told him… maybe," she finally said. "And if he loses, he knows I'll never let him hear the end of it."

Violet giggled, and Misty focused back on the TV screen. The last part was true: if he actually lost she'd never let him live it down. But, if he kept up the pace and adapted to anything Lorelei threw at him, he could stand a good chance. It was Ash she was talking about, after all.

* * *

 _ **Back at the Indigo Stadium…**_

"Ladies and gentlemen, thanks for waiting; we're about to resume our match! The competitors are now returning to the battlefield!"

In the middle of the crowd's murmurs, Ash and Lorelei went back to the trainer boxes on both sides of the field. The battlefield had returned to its initial state, with the pond unfrozen once again. The referee went back to his own box, raising both flags.

"Once the break is over the battle continues. The challenger must choose his next Pokémon," he declared, raising the flag towards Ash's side.

"It's time. Floatzel, I choose you!" Ash called as he threw the Pokéball.

"Float, floatzel!" The evolved form of Ash's Buizel appeared on the field, giving a couple of punches forward in a challenging fashion

Lorelei gave him an inquisitive glance, and then chose her own Pokéball. "Lapras, your turn!"

Thus, Lorelei's next Pokémon was her Lapras. According to Misty, Lapras had been her first catch ever, having gotten him since she was very young, and just like Dewgong he had a lot of experience on his side.

"Start!"

"Lapras, begin with Thunder!" Lorelei called. Lapras gave a squeak and prepared to summon the electric attack.

"Dodge with Aqua Jet!" Ash countered.

Floatzel coated himself in a water aura and dodged the Thunder, launching himself at the Water/Ice-type. Lapras didn't stop, and continued to summon lightning bolts over the field, but Floatzel dodged them in zigzag until he came close enough to ram him.

"Body Slam!" Lorelei called.

Much to Ash's surprise, right before Floatzel hit Lapras, he jumped to evade the charge. Somehow predicting where he'd stop, Lapras fell on top of the aquatic weasel with all of his weight. Instinctively, Floatzel covered himself with his arms and inflated his floater right before Lapras fell on him, cushioning the impact somewhat.

"Fury Cutter!" Ash shouted.

"Float, float!" The fins in Floatzel's arms turned into a pair of red sharp blades, and with a violent double cross slash, the weasel removed the plesiosaur from himself, jumping back to his feet.

"Keep attacking, Floatzel!" the Pallet trainer ordered as he punched forward.

Without sparing a second, Floatzel charged at Lapras and continued to slash at him with his fins. The Fury Cutter boosted damage with each hit that landed, and both decided to capitalize on that as much as possible to gain an early advantage. Thus, Floatzel slashed at Lapras in the face, neck and body, delivering horizontal, vertical and diagonal cuts one after another, ending with a double crossed from below that knocked him upwards and caused him to fall on his back.

At that, the aquatic weasel leapt into the air to fall on Lapras and deliver a devastating blow while he was still on the ground. However, while he was down, he wasn't out by any stretch.

"Freeze-Dry," Lorelei called with a chilling voice.

Lapras opened his eyes brusquely and opened the mouth with a shriek, firing a powerful blue energy beam at Floatzel, hitting him right on the chest and sending him flying backwards.

When he landed, Floatzel had been encased in an ice block, leaving only his head and part of his limbs out, as he tried to struggle to break free.

"Psychic," the Elite Four member added in the same tone as before.

Lapras straightened himself and began emitting a blue aura, which also surrounded the frozen Floatzel, causing him to levitate. Next, a telekinetic pull sent him flying at one of the frozen rocks. And then another, and another, and yet another, bouncing around like a pinball until he finally crashed at the waterfall's wall, breaking the block. He fell with a belly flop on the pond, but he quickly came back out.

"Floatzel, use Water Pulse!"

Floatzel put both hands together and formed a large water sphere, which he threw at Lapras. Lorelei didn't give any response, and Lapras stood still as he let the sphere to hit him. After the water slash, the drops glowed and a few of the wounds from the previous attacks began to heal.

"Water Absorb," Ash observed. The Pallet trainer clenched his teeth. Misty hadn't told him much about Lorelei's Lapras, except that he had a rather varied move arsenal (and he had seen it so far), but she didn't go too far into specifics like his ability. He clearly had a great advantage to face against other Water-types.

"Lapras, Freeze-Dry!" Lorelei called.

"Floatzel, Scald!" Ash countered.

Lapras shot the freezing ray at Floatzel, who countered with a stream of boiling water, fighting cold with heat. Both attacks pushed one another for a while, until they exploded in a large cloud of steam that covered the field for a bit, preventing both trainers and the crowd to see what was going on.

During that brief respite, Ash began thinking a bit to face the situation. Lorelei's Lapras had a pretty good moveset, and his ability pretty much discarded Floatzel's Water-type attacks, as they would only heal him. Well, while he thought about something, first thing was to clear the field to recover visibility.

"Floatzel, use Sonic Boom and clear the steam!"

The weasel jumped and spun into the air to fire three sonic bursts at the steam cloud to clear it up, and Lapras silhouette began turning visible through it.

"Get close and use Fury Cutter!" Ash ordered.

"Lapras, Hydro Pump!"

Floatzel coated his fins in red energy and rushed at Lapras. In turn, he opened his mouth to shoot water streams intermittently. While Floatzel dodged them at first, when he came closer one managed to hit him and sent him flying through the air, interrupting his attack.

"Body Slam!"

Once more, Lapras jumped over Floatzel. Ash had to think fast: the Aqua Jet couldn't serve as an attack, but it could still serve as an evasive maneuver.

"Use Aqua Jet and get above Lapras!" he exclaimed.

Floatzel nodded and quickly propelled himself out of Lapras' way, letting him land on the ground with a thud. Once he got above him, Floatzel dispersed the water and prepared to fall on him.

"Crunch!" Ash called.

Floatzel placed his head downwards and opened his mouth while his fangs became larger with dark energy, and with a violent snap, they closed behind Lapras' neck, causing the Water/Ice-type to let out a shriek of pain, drilling into Ash and Lorelei's ears.

"Ow, my ears," Ash muttered behind his teeth.

Still shrieking, Lapras began shaking his neck violently as he tried to get Floatzel off him, but the weasel tightened the bite even more and didn't let go. Seeing that he wasn't doing any good with that, the plesiosaur charged backwards against one of the waterfall's walls, intentionally crashing against it, but that didn't help either.

Ash caught on that Lorelei adjusted her glasses, sending out a glare with the sunshine's reflection before giving out her next command with a gelid voice. "Thunder."

And with a desperate cry, Lapras summoned a lightning fall to fall on Floatzel (and himself), electrocuting them both. For a moment, Ash's Pokémon fought back the discharge trying to endure, but he finally couldn't hold on any longer and lessened his fangs' grip, and with a violent shake Lapras managed to finally get him off his back, throwing him into the pond.

"Freeze-Dry!"

"Floatzel, get out quickly with Aqua Jet!"

Lapras fired the freezing beam again. By a miracle, Floatzel escaped the pond before it was caught by the attack and frozen solid. Floatzel landed safely on the ground, but as soon as he did so, he gave of sparks and recoiled in pain, falling to his knees and holding his body.

"Floatzel!" Ash shouted as he realized what had happened.

"Seems like Lapras' Thunder helped us after all," Lorelei said. "Lapras, use Aqua Ring!"

Lapras cried out and summoned a couple of water rings, orbiting around him and glowing as they started to heal his wounds. Not quite as immediate like Rest, but its lasting effect would be bothersome and make his effort to damage to go to waste. To top it off, Floatzel's paralysis would complicate things even further.

"Freeze-Dry!" Lorelei pointed forward.

Once more, Lorelei called for the freeze-dry beam attack. At that moment, Ash didn't stop to think: he'd just decide to gamble with one of his improvised tactics, unaware if it would work with that particular attack.

"Floatzel, counter with Aqua Jet!"

At first glance, it sounded like using that attack against a Pokémon with Water Absorb was insane. For a moment, Lorelei thought he'd use it to dodge, but that wasn't the case: Floatzel charged head on directly against the Freeze-Dry beam as he started spinning like a drill. The water layer enveloping him turned to ice, and he kept going forward unstoppable at Lapras, hitting him hard and sending out icy shards everywhere after the impact.

"That was…" Lorelei readjusted her glasses.

Ash let out a sigh of relief. "Oof, good thing it actually worked,"

The Ice Aqua Jet was still one of Floatzel's favorite moves, though over the years Ash had tried to discover its limitations. For example, an attack like Icy Wind wasn't strong enough to freeze the water, unlike Ice Beam or Blizzard, and he'd never used it against an opponent with Freeze-Dry. Fortunately, Floatzel didn't suffer any ill effects: the water had shielded him from direct damage.

"Very smart, using my own attack to turn your Aqua Jet into a solid projectile." The Elite Four member nodded. "That way you bypass my Lapras' ability."

"We learned that trick from a friend," Ash said, making a note to properly thank Dawn after he had won. "I didn't know if it would work against that Freeze-Dry, but now I do."

"Well, congratulations to your friend," said Lorelei. "But you still have a long way to go before you beat us. Lapras, use Psychic on those ice shards!"

Lapras focused his psychic powers and levitated the remaining Aqua Jet shards. Making them orbit around to gain momentum, he fired them like a gatling barrage straight at Floatzel, who then covered himself with his arms and pumped his floater to cushion the damage as much as possible. The barrage hit him harder than expected, though, causing him to pull back a few steps.

"Use Thunder!" Lorelei called.

"Dodge!" Ash shouted in turn.

Floatzel tried to get out of the way, but the paralysis acted up and prevented him from moving, causing him to take the full brunt of Lapras' Thunder. Encouraged by that, Lorelei called to press on with another Body Slam to squash him flat. This time the weasel was unable to react and took all of Lapras' weight. The whole battlefield echoed with the crash, and for a moment, Floatzel stopped moving.

The referee approached to check on him. "Floatzel is unable to-!"

"FLOAT!"

 _ ***CRUNCH!***_ And before they could declare him out of the battle, Floatzel opened his mouth and enlarged his fangs to sink them in one of Lapras' flippers. While his opponent cried out in, Floatzel gave him a shove to get him off, standing back as Lapras rolled to a side.

Ash smirked: Floatzel had always been a rather headstrong Pokémon, and a way to incense him was to declare him out before he gave his all. Somehow pushing that button gave him a second wind, but as he saw him breathing heavily, he realized he was about to reach his limit. With that in mind, the trainer reviewed the cards he could still play.

Lapras' Aqua Ring was still active and healing him every few moments. Floatzel's arsenal forced him to use mostly his melee attacks, but Lapras could easily repel him before he could get close. The only thing he could do would be exploiting Floatzel's ability to boost his speed and start a fast assault, but he couldn't do that without rain.

' _If only Dewgong's Rain Dance was still active, maybe I could… Wait a minute… yeah, we can do that!'_

' _I know that look, Ash,'_ Lorelei thought at the same time. _'What are you up to now?'_

During the whole match, Lorelei had paid attention to Ash's body language, and he'd always adopt that expression when he got an idea. And he'd always pull something unexpected from up his sleeve whenever he did.

"Floatzel, Water Pulse!"

The Elite Four member tilted her head slightly. What would that do? A Water-type attack would only heal Lapras. And the order that followed left her even more confused.

"Throw it to the air and fire a Sonic Boom!"

With fast movements, Floatzel tossed the water sphere to the air as high as he could, and then delivered a tail strike to send out the sonic blast to burst it. Upon doing so, he created an improvised rain that fell all over the field. It wouldn't last too much, just long enough.

"Lapras, use Thunder!"

"Dodge and use Fury Cutter!"

Lapras summoned the electric attack and tried to drop the lightning on Floatzel to seal the assault. But much to his surprise, Floatzel disappeared before getting hit, and reappeared almost as if he had teleported. He repeated the process a couple times more before getting in range, and once his fins readied the red blades, he started slashing at Lapras with no mercy.

"How did he…? Of course," Lorelei said after understanding. "Swift Swim, speed boost in rain."

Just like at the beginning of the match, Floatzel relentlessly attacked Lapras, delivering slash after slash to boost the damage output. Although Lorelei tried to give commands, Floatzel's attack speed prevented Lapras from countering. Even after the brief rain stopped, it had fulfilled its purpose by giving Floatzel the head start to catch him, and with the attack boost with each strike, the damage became more and more visible, especially when the Aqua Ring was unable to heal it fast enough.

Floatzel didn't stop until he got another paralysis attack, which Lapras barely used to use a desperate Psychic attack that launched Floatzel upwards in an uncontrolled burst.

"Freeze-Dry!" the Elite Four member called.

The Water/Ice-type fired the freeze beam again. In a brief timespan, Ash and Floatzel exchanged glances, and Ash managed to send a 'you know what to do'. Floatzel nodded and aimed his face downwards, coating himself in the Aqua Jet's protective layer to meteor towards Lapras.

Lorelei tried to call off the attack, but it was too late: the beam froze the Aqua Jet and it crashed, hitting Lapras' head and leaving him in a daze. Floatzel landed behind him, once again giving sparks due to the paralysis, while Lapras waddled around for a bit after the last blow, and finally slumped on the ground, his eyes spinning.

"Lapras is unable to battle, Floatzel is the winner!"

"Good job, Floatzel!" Ash gave him a thumbs up, which the weasel returned.

"Flo, flo!"

Lorelei returned her fallen Lapras, and his icon on the board turned off completely. With that, the battle was four to one in Ash's favor, but like before, Lorelei's Pokémon had forced Ash's past his limits to achieve victory, and had been left badly battered in the process. He'd hardly be in shape to keep fighting after that.

"Well played, Ash," Lorelei said. "You're just two Pokémon away from beating me. But as you'll see, the last two will be the hardest ones. Mamoswine, go!"

"Mamo!" The warthog and mammoth hybrid appeared on the field, stomping the ground as he blew icy air through the nostrils.

A heavyweight, Ash could see it. Well, in that case, it was best to face him with someone on his own level in the same area. With only two had two battle-ready Pokémon left each, there was no better-suited opponent.

"Floatzel, return!" Ash said. Once Floatzel's icon switched to standby, the trainer picked his next Pokéball. "Torterra, I choose you!"

"TERRA!" The Grass-type turtle announced as he appeared on the field.

From outside, it would seem that Ash didn't know what he was doing, and even those who knew him would think the same, if they knew of Torterra's record. After all, once he reached his final evolution it took him a lot of work to adapt to his size to use his raw power on his favor. But since then, he and Ash had been spending the past few years seeking to correct that

"Torterra versus Mamoswine, start!" the referee declared.

"Mamoswine, Blizzard!" Lorelei began.

"Torterra, Synthesis!" Ash preemptively countered.

Mamoswine inhaled and then blew through his nostrils a powerful icy wind blast. Torterra held firm and awaiting the unavoidable attack, braced himself as he prepared the healing energy in advance, the trees on his back glowing. Despite the wind's force, the turtle was unmovable and other than getting some frost here and there, the healing move reduced the actual damage to minimal.

"Stone Edge!"

"TERRA!" Torterra raised his forelegs and giving a hard stomp, summoned several sharp rock pillars from the ground, advancing straight at Mamoswine.

"Earthquake!"

With a stomp just as strong or even stronger, Mamoswine generated a seismic wave to counter the Stone Edge, and in a matter of seconds it neutralized the stone pillars reducing them to gravel. Without stopping, the tremor kept going forward at Torterra and made him flinch slightly, though he was able to endure it without too much actual harm.

"Ice Fang!" Lorelei called.

"Energy Ball!" Ash replied.

Mamoswine once again snorted through his nostrils, and his large tusks turned from ivory white to a glowing icy blue. Stomping loudly, he stampeded towards Torterra, who in response fired out of his mouth a green energy sphere. While it hit him in the middle of the face, even exploding, the huge mastodon kept going implacable until he came close enough and hit Torterra from below, sending him upwards violently.

Torterra crashed against one of the icy mounts, but he quickly regained his footing and glared defiantly at Mamoswine, who kicked the ground with his right forepaw awaiting his next order, still blowing cold air through his nostrils.

"Earthquake," Lorelei ordered.

"You too, Torterra!" Ash shouted in turn.

Both Pokémon stomped with their forelegs simultaneously. As both seismic waves encountered in the middle of the field, they neutralized each other, evenly matched in strength and intensity. Ash caught that Lorelei gave an impressed smile.

Meanwhile, Torterra was able to endure the attacks, but they hadn't been able to land any solid blow other than that Energy Ball. It was time to, in a manner of speaking, heat things up a bit.

"Torterra, Sunny Day!" Ash called.

"Tor!" The trees on Torterra's back glowed again, and it fired a red luminous ball at the air, exploding to create a small artificial sun to bathe the entire field, making the ice crystals glow everywhere.

"So you're trying to put the weather on your side," Lorelei said. "Mamoswine, Ancient Power!"

"Swine!" Mamoswine started to form between his tusks a large silver energy sphere, ready to fire it at a moment's notice. Ash noticed it was much larger than when he had seen Dawn's Mamoswine do the same, so he assumed it would be that much more destructive.

"Torterra, Solar Beam!"

Right when Mamoswine was about to fire his attack, Torterra leaned his backside forward as he took on the sunshine. The Sunny Day gave the attack a quick charge and he was able to fire his powerful energy beam right when Mamoswine did the same with the Ancient Power sphere.

The quick charge played in their favor, and the beam pierced through the Ancient Power, shattering it by focusing in a small area and going forward until it hit Mamoswine in the center of the face. The wooly mastodon shook after recovering from the impact, and glared at the turtle, who returned it defiantly and challenged to come for him.

"Blizzard!" Lorelei shouted.

"Torterra, you know what to do!" Ash called in turn.

Just like at the beginning, Torterra preemptively prepared to heal when Mamoswine blew the Blizzard. Except this time, thanks to the sunshine's power boost, the Ice-type attack's was completely restored and Torterra was left with no visible wounds, other than the frost that quickly melted away.

"Leaf Storm!"

At Ash's command, the small forest on Torterra's back glowed with green energy, and a second later he fired a spiraling blast of leaves towards Mamoswine. The speed was so great, neither the Ice-type nor his trainer were able to react in time, taking the full brunt of the blast, pushing him backwards enough to leave very noticeable trenches with his heavy feet.

Lorelei had to admit that attack had been impressive: to move a Mamoswine heavier than average, it had to have been very powerful, and evidenced how well-trained Ash's Torterra was. However, she also knew the effect of using Leaf Storm and possible repercussions, so she'd have to use that to her advantage.

"Icicle Crash!" the Elite Four called.

Mamoswine breathed again and blew another icy current, except that he did it upwards this time. The icy air solidified instantly, creating a rain of ice spikes that began to fall over Torterra.

"Defend with Stone Edge!" Ash ordered.

Torterra stomped on the ground and raised a wall of rock pillars to shield himself from the spikes. It was a good defense: it prevented most of them from hitting, but they turned to be just a distraction for Mamoswine to charge using Ice Fang to demolish the barrier, ramming Torterra with all his weight like a living tank.

"Fissure!" Lorelei called.

Mamoswine gave a double stomp and instantly a large crack began to split the battlefield, going directly towards Torterra.

Once again, Ash's battle instincts flared up at maximum and the trainer reacted instantly. "Use Rock Climb to escape!"

Torterra's toenails enlarged and much to the surprise of everyone witnessing it (barring Ash of course), the turtle leapt out of the crack's way, using his claws to grip onto the waterfall's wall, and running across it with a rather good speed for his massive size. As soon as he got in range, he charged to ram the mastodon with full force.

"Mamoswine!" Lorelei shouted, her icy demeanor cracking for a moment. How could Torterra move _that_ fast?

"Prepare an Energy Ball, Torterra!" Ash ordered.

"Terra!" The turtle began forming the green ball in his mouth, but surprisingly didn't fire it. Unaware of what Ash was up to, Lorelei decided to give her next command immediately.

"Ancient Power, now!"

Bigger than before, Mamoswine began concentrating the silver energy sphere between his tusks to fire it. Torterra held his own attack in his mouth without firing it, but the Elite Four member was certain that even if he fired it, it wouldn't do any good. A couple seconds later, Mamoswine let go of the Ancient Power, hitting the target and causing a huge explosion that raised a lot of smoke.

"Was it enough?" Lorelei asked in a low voice.

As the smoke cleared, Lorelei could see Torterra's silhouette was still where it was before, and standing. However, once she got a clearer view, she was shocked to see that, despite having taken clear damage, the forest on his back was glowing with a powerful green energy. That wasn't the ability Overgrowth, it was a different shade to what she knew.

More like… that of an Energy Ball attack.

"Did he just…?"

"Torterra, use Solar Beam!"

"TERRA!" the turtle bellowed at full force, and the glow on his backside intensified even more.

With the Sunny Day still active, the attack's quick charge kicked in, and the green glow from before added to the Solar Beam's firepower. The beam itself was different from the last one: rather than being focused in a smaller area for more damage, it came out as wide as Torterra's backside and it expanded as it advanced. Both Lorelei and Mamoswine widened their eyes, unable to react to such attack power that irremediably consumed the mastodon before sending him to fly and fall loudly on his back, having to roll forward to get back on his feet with difficulty.

"I… can't believe it," Lorelei said, half shocked, half impressed.

Using the logic, the Leaf Storm should have weakened the power of Torterra's special attacks, but that Solar Beam had clearly been _stronger_ than the first one. The Sunny Day-induced quick charge had also prevented them from reacting or raising a defense, and she doubted they could have protected themselves against that kind of power.

And then, the Elite Four member recalled: she never actually saw Torterra _firing_ the Energy Ball. The only thing that occurred to her was that he probably swallowed it, and somehow it gave him an additional boost to his attack.

"I'm impressed, Ash." Lorelei nodded with acknowledgement. "That was one of the strongest Solar Beams I've ever seen."

"Thank you." The trainer smiled. "I think it's about time for us to end this round, wouldn't you agree?"

Lorelei nodded. Somehow she felt that after that attack Ash had practically secured the round, so she at least had to make sure that Mamoswine didn't go down gentle, causing some damage or finding a weakness to exploit.

"Mamoswine, use Blizzard!"

"Torterra, use Stone Edge and create a path towards Mamoswine!"

While Mamoswine inhaled to blow the artic current, Torterra stomped on the ground and created a straight line of rocky pillars going at Mamoswine, making them bigger as they went forward. Two particularly big ones protruded from underneath Mamoswine, violently knocking him backwards.

"Rock Climb!" Ash shouted.

Once more, Torterra extended his claws, but this time he jumped over the pillar line, still active on the field. Once again running at an impressive speed for his size, he jumped at Mamoswine for another full body tackle. Lorelei managed to call Mamoswine to do an Ice Fang, and although Torterra beat him in the attack clash, he didn't come out unscathed.

"Charge another Energy Ball!"

This time, the Elite Four trainer could see it clearly: Torterra opened his mouth and charged the green energy sphere, but instead of firing it, he swallowed it, making the greenery on his back to glow with its power. At that moment, the last vestiges of the Sunny Day were beginning to dim down, so Ash and Torterra decided to use them before they vanished.

"Solar Beam!"

"Ancient Power!"

Mamoswine gathered his remaining energy for one last attack, and fired the large silver sphere. Torterra replied with another Solar Beam, and while it wasn't as explosive and impressive as the first, it was still strong enough to overpower the Ancient Power after a few seconds and hit Mamoswine hard enough to leave him knocked out. The round was over.

"Mamoswine is unable to battle, Torterra is the winner!" the referee declared.

"This is amazing, ladies and gentlemen!" the MC shouted in the middle of everyone's cheers. "The match is now five to one on the challenger's favor! Only one Pokémon stands between Ash and his first victory against Kanto's Elite Four!"

"Yeah, way to go Torterra!" Ash shouted. Torterra turned to see his trainer and nodded with satisfaction.

The board turned Mamoswine's icon off, leaving only one remaining Pokémon for Lorelei. The Elite Four trainer returned her fallen wooly mammoth and after thanking him silently, she glanced at the challenger. The confident, rash and impatient boy so full of hopes and dreams she met so many years before, was now standing before her as an equal, forcing her to the limits and one step away from beating her. But she couldn't make it easy for him, and as per the norm for such a challenge, she had left the best for the finale.

Besides, even though Ash was able to exploit Torterra's power to defeat Mamoswine, and didn't take that much damage, Lorelei could spot two glaring weaknesses she could capitalize on her favor. The rest of his team, barring his last unrevealed Pokémon, even though still in standby, was not in condition to endure another assault, so she could still turn the match's tide around if she played her cards right.

"I must congratulate you, Ash. You are the first challenger who forces me to use all my team in a long time. I'm pleased to see how much you've grown in all this time," Lorelei said with genuine admiration. "But you still have one more obstacle to overcome. Do you have what it takes?"

"We're going to give everything we've got to win today," Ash assured. "We've come this far, and nothing will make us stop."

"So be it." The red-haired woman raised her final Pokéball. "I'm placing all my hopes on you. Slowbro, I choose you!"

And thus, the final icon in Lorelei's side of the board activated, while her sixth Pokémon appeared on the field. Notably, this particular Slowbro looked _very_ different from other members of her species. Her expression didn't look like that of an absent-minded idiot. It looked focused and full of determination. Somewhat unusual and maybe creepy to an extent, but Ash wouldn't let that intimidate him.

"Let's go on, Torterra, I'm counting on you!" Ash declared.

"Terra!"

As soon as the referee called them to continue the match, Lorelei reviewed in her head what she planned to do. Torterra had taken almost no damage during the past round, and he probably had a large amount of stamina to not to be evidencing any fatigue so far. In that case, she had to avoid damage at any cost, and save enough energy for Ash's last Pokémon.

"Torterra, attack with Stone Edge!" Ash shouted.

"Terra!" Torterra stomped on the ground, raising the pillars right towards Slowbro. Lorelei in turn, hardened her icy demeanor even more, as she was determined to win.

"Dodge with Telekinesis."

Slowbro's eyes glowed blue, and much to both Ash and Torterra's surprise, she didn't use her power on her opponent, but instead herself, using it to levitate herself out of the way right when a stone pillar protruded from under her feet. Torterra kept attacking, but Slowbro continued to move around, floating just inches over the ground with an impressive speed, even more so than Torterra's when wall-running.

"Zen Headbutt," Lorelei called, in the same gelid tone as before.

Lifting herself up in the air, Slowbro set herself in position and fired herself as she reinforced her head with psychic power. Slowbro hit Torterra so hard she pushed him, leaving a few noticeable trenches, If not comparable to those of Mamoswine when he was hit by the Leaf Storm. Shortly after, Slowbro landed softly on the ground, leaving her psychic powers aside for a while.

"Wow, I never thought I'd see a Slowbro moving that fast," Ash commented.

"I could say the same about your Torterra," Lorelei replied.

Even though she was smiling outwardly, Lorelei knew she had to be cautious. While she had trained her Slowbro to make her mind work at higher speed, that didn't eliminate her physical limitations. She wasn't as slow as Mamoswine, but she was still somewhat vulnerable to opponents capable of moving fast around the field, so they learned to use her psychic powers to bypass those limitations.

That said, the tactic had a handicap of its own: it consumed a lot of energy and she couldn't abuse it all the time. Only when necessary.

"Water Pulse."

"Energy Ball!"

Both Pokémon simultaneously began to charge their respective spheres. Lorelei crossed her fingers hoping for Torterra to swallow it, but he didn't: the turtle used the attack the 'normal' way and fired it. Slowbro did the same and both of them collided in the middle of the field, fusing into some sort of yin-yang bomb that exploded a few seconds later, though without causing damage to either of them, barring splashing some water droplets and green sparks.

' _He didn't swallow it,'_ Lorelei thought. _'How does Torterra know whether he has to fire or eat it?'_

The Elite Four member tried to analyze the boy's body language, and tried to recall the previous instances the same attack was used. When Torterra fired it, Ash had only said the name of the attack itself, while the times it was swallowed, Ash added other actions, 'charge', and 'prepare'. Was that the key?

"Sunny Day!" Ash called, interrupting Lorelei's thoughts.

The Elite Four trainer saw again how the weather sphere was fired up in the air and exploded to create the artificial sun once more. Synthesis and a quick-charged Solar Beam had cost her the previous round, and adding the Energy Ball to the equation it became even more dangerous.

"Solar Beam!"

"Dodge!" Lorelei cried out.

Torterra began charging his attack, while Slowbro preemptively used Telekinesis again to levitate and dodged the beam by the hair. While not as powerful as the previous ones, the quick charge still gave a dangerous factor, and she needed to avoid damage at any cost.

"We need to get close! Stone Edge and Rock Climb!" Ash called.

Once again, Torterra used the first attack to create a path towards Slowbro, even knowing she'd dodge, and grabbed onto it with his claws to run through it. Lorelei squinted her eyes as she locked her gaze onto Torterra, knowing the first weak point she had spotted on the previous round would come into play now.

"Circle around and use Fire Blast!"

Right when Torterra was about to reach him, Slowbro levitated once more to dodge doing a quick spin, and using her Shellder tail as a pivot to control better as she inhaled. Torterra overshot her, and he only realized when the fiery explosion hit him on the back.

"Torterra!" Ash cried out.

Lorelei smirked and nodded. Just as she had anticipated, even though Torterra could run fast across the walls, he could only do so in a straight line. His size and weight would hamper him if it came to turn around and change directions, which left him vulnerable to a circle-and-hit tactic. Obviously, that couldn't be used with Mamoswine who was a similarly big and heavy, but Slowbro was a different story. Besides, the active Sunny Day boosted Fire-type attacks, thus making the Fire Blast even stronger.

"Quick, Torterra, use Synthesis!" the black-haired boy called.

Torterra began healing himself, although this time around despite the Sunny Day, the recovery wasn't as evident as before. Not too surprising: after taking the blast at point-blank range and boosted even more by the Sunny Day, another attack like that could be the end for him.

"Energy Ball!" Ash ordered, and Lorelei paid attention to the way he said it, this time especially to the tone and emphasis on each word. Squinting her eyes, she predicted Torterra would swallow it.

And he did so: Torterra used the power boost and fired another quick-charged Solar Beam. Boosted by the Energy Ball there was no time to dodge, so the only choice was to counter it with another attack. With luck, the Sunny Day-boosted Fire Blast would be enough.

"Fire Blast!"

Slowbro opened her mouth and blew the fire kanji, which expanded to almost thrice its normal size as it advanced forward, clashing in the middle with the Solar Beam. This time, the resulting explosion was so strong both Pokémon were caught in it, getting themselves knocked backwards a few yards, although Torterra took the worst part being closer to blast.

At that point, Torterra was starting to evidence fatigue from the combat, but he refused to fall. However, Lorelei thought she had figured when Ash and Torterra would use the Energy Ball to attack directly and when they would use to boost the other attacks. All she had to do was wait until they did.

On the other side, Ash was starting to worry. Torterra was reaching his limit and hadn't been able to land any solid hits against Slowbro.

' _What are we gonna do?'_ he mentally wondered, and then decided to go for the first thing that came to his mind. "Torterra, use Stone Edge all over the field!"

"Terra!" the turtle bellowed as he began stomping repeatedly on the ground, summoning the rocky pillars everywhere across the field.

Rather than summoning in a straight line, the pillars protruded at random and irregularly. Lorelei snapped her fingers and Slowbro glanced at her for a second, just long enough to give her a nod of acknowledgement. Slowbro returned it, knowing what she had to do.

"Slow…" Right before a pillar rose from beneath her, Slowbro used Telekinesis in herself to dodge. The sharp rocks continued to appear one after another, but Slowbro dodged it again with great agility, never letting them touch her even once.

Slowly but surely she closed the distance and charged to give Torterra a Zen Headbutt with enough force to knock him backwards.

"Terra, terra!" he shouted, shaking his legs around as he tried to turn himself back up, but to no success.

"Torterra!" a worried Ash cried out.

Lorelei almost felt bad for taking advantage of an opponent who was helpless on the ground, but it was an official match and nothing in the rules forbade an attack in such conditions. Slowbro fired the burning kanji once more, hitting the ground so hard it exploded with enough force to send Torterra spinning through the air. The only bright side was that he landed on his feet, but the huge smoking, kanji-shaped hole left on the ground evidenced the kind of firepower behind that move.

"Torterra, use Synthesis!" Ash shouted again.

That was it: if Ash had chosen the healing move so soon, it meant they had been forced to the defensive and they had to capitalize on it. Torterra tried to heal his wounds, but halfway through the process a flare burst engulfed him, interrupting the healing and causing his trainer to grit his teeth. Lorelei looked up: the artificial sun had begun to vanish and along with it, the advantage it granted to Torterra's moves.

"Use Energy Ball!"

' _He's going to swallow it,'_ Lorelei thought.

In the time Torterra took to gather enough energy to form the sphere in his mouth, and then swallow it to store up its power, the Sunny Day finally dissipated. Just as Lorelei anticipated, they were going for a Solar Beam, and she was hoping for that, especially now the quick charge was gone.

"Disable!" she ordered.

"Slow!" Slowbro thrust both palms forward while Torterra stored energy for the Solar Beam. The turtle froze in place and flinched slightly, cancelling the attack. But then, something else happened.

Torterra saw himself engulfed by a green energy burst, crying out in pain as the Solar Beam's power faded into nothingness. There was the second weak point Lorelei had been able to identify: using the Energy Ball to boost the attacks was smart, but also a double-edged sword due to the risk it carried.

"Torterra!" Ash cried out.

"Just as I thought," Lorelei said. "If the power isn't released soon into another attack, it'll only explode inside. It's like a safety valve, isn't it?"

"Huh?" Ash briefly widened his eyes, and then glanced at Torterra.

Admittedly, he had never thought about it, but when the works sank in he realized Lorelei had a point. By disrupting the Solar Beam's charge, the stored energy had nowhere else to go, and it caused damage to Torterra himself when it exploded. The trainer made a mental note of not to forget about that next time.

"Leaf Storm!" Ash ordered.

"Terra!" Torterra roared and let out his leaf barrage from his small forest, but it was notably less powerful than the one he used against Mamoswine. Maybe it would have been different had he chosen to boost it with the Energy Ball.

"Slowbro, levitate through that tornado and use Zen Headbutt!" Lorelei countered.

As the leaf barrage flew at Slowbro, she levitated herself again and instead of trying to dodge, she dove into the eye of the storm, spinning like a drill as her head covered itself in psychic energy. Ash shook when he recognized his own tactic, but he was unable to do anything and Torterra took the blow head on, falling backwards with a thud while Slowbro landed slowly on the ground as the leaves spread around. Torterra struggled to get back up, though the burn he suffered before flared up again, causing him pain.

"Your Pokémon has great endurance and determination to match, Ash. But I'm afraid he's not getting back up again after this." Lorelei grabbed her Pokéball-shaped hair clasp, removing it.

Ash paid no attention to the crowd's "Oooohhhh" when the Elite Four member let her hair down and increasing tenfold her physical appeal. Instead, he focused on the shiny stone it had incrusted, right on the place where the activation button would be, and the luminous beams coming out of it.

"Our opponents will be at our mercy when they are frozen solid. Are you ready? MEGA EVOLUTION!"

Slowbro raised her tail revealing a small band, normally hidden by her Shellder so it wouldn't be as obvious at first glance, and the Slowbronite it held began reacting to Lorelei's Key Stone. Through the light show, the trainer watched how Shellder's carapace moved and consumed Slowbro's body until almost taking it over, revealing her new form.

"SLOOOOOWW!" the new Mega-Slowbro, much to Ash and Torterra's surprise.

"Slowbro, Ice Beam," Lorelei called, with a tone that could only be described as close to the absolute zero.

Ash didn't bother to give any commands; he could only watch how Mega-Slowbro fired the freezing beam towards the helpless Torterra, encasing him in a large ice block and leaving him trapped with no way to escape. Next, Lorelei snapped her fingers, and Slowbro raised the block from the ground using her Telekinesis, lifting it to a more than considerable height, and then dropped it to the ground like a meteor, crashing it against the frozen pond and breaking through the ice layer.

The ice block shattered with the impact, and the water could be seen through the broken ice layer underneath. A few seconds later, Torterra floated back to the surface, immobile. Lorelei had spoken the truth: he wouldn't get back up after that.

"Torterra is unable to battle, the winner is Slowbro!"

"Incredible, ladies and gentlemen!" the MC shouted. "After the difficulties Torterra gave Mamoswine, Lorelei reveals an ace in the whole no one was expecting, Mega Evolution! Will this be a miraculous comeback? What will the challenger do about it?"

Ash returned Torterra while his icon on the scoreboard turned off completely. Now the score was five to two on his favor, but with that kind of power the trainer was sure: none of his Pokémon would endure a battle against him. Once upon a faraway time, he would have probably used them as cannon fodder to wear his opponent, but not now. He wouldn't force them to get hurt more than needed if he could help it.

"Well, if it's that's how we're going to play, all I can do is use something on the same level." Ash then grabbed his sixth Pokéball. "Sceptile, I choose you!"

"Sceptile!" The tree lizard came out on the field, his icon appearing on the board instantly. As soon as he set foot on the icy floor, he put something in his mouth. Lorelei glanced at the object in question, and realized it was some sort of pipe, with something in the tip's end.

"Is that…"

"A Sceptilite," Ash completed as he rolled up his right glove to reveal his second hidden ace: a Key Stone of his own. "Let's go, Sceptile! Break the limit, MEGA EVOLUTION!"

Ash tapped the stone on the bracelet and it glowed. Just like with Slowbro, the Sceptilite on the pipe reacted to it, connecting trainer and Pokémon with the power of their bonds, and awakening his advanced form.

"SCEP… TILE!" Mega Sceptile announced as the Mega Evolution energy dissipated.

"Sceptile versus Slowbro, start!" the referee declared.

Lorelei glanced one last time at the trainer and his Pokémon before giving out her first command. Mega Evolution was the mark of a truly exceptional trainer, and if she'd been impressed with Ash's performance before, now she was ten times more.

Regardless of the official score on the board, the result of this round would decide the match. At the time, it was no longer an official battle, and both trainers had become opposite poles: she was cold and merciless as a glacier, while he was like a volcano about to erupt. They only shared one thing in common: they were unstoppable and focused on one thing, victory.

"Slowbro, Ice Beam," Lorelei called.

"Sceptile, use Agility and dodge!" Ash shouted in turn.

Slowbro was the first to attack, firing the freezing beam against Sceptile. Knowing that the best way to deal with supereffective attacks was not to be there in the first place, Sceptile started running at speeds almost imperceptible for the human eye, vanishing from sight when the beam almost touched him, and reappearing on the left side. He then moved again to the right to jump, and placed himself above Slowbro ready to attack.

"Leaf Blade!" Ash called.

"Sceptile!" Sceptile crossed his arms in front of his face while he dove in. The leaves in his fore arms turned into green glowing blades, and the lizard delivered a double cross slash, landing on the other side as he turned around, ready in case of a possible retaliation.

"Telekinesis," said Lorelei.

"Move on, Agility!" Ash countered.

Slowbro thrust her palms forward trying to trap Sceptile with her psychic powers, but the always alert lizard vanished from sight and started moving around the field without stopping. Since Telekinesis required to focus on the target for a few seconds, they had to take advantage of Sceptile's superior speed to stay on the move.

Sceptile jumped across from one ice mound to another, trying to change directions as fast as he could to confuse Slowbro, and get behind her to attack on her blind spots.

"Bullet Seed!"

Sceptile opened his mouth and fired a barrage of green bullets like a machine gun, intentionally aiming at Slowbro's head where the Shellder carapace wouldn't shield her. The Water/Psychic-type turned to him as she tried to focus to attack again.

"Water Pulse."

Enduring the gatling seed barrage, Slowbro focused the water sphere in her hands, making it almost as big as her head. Preemptively, Sceptile pulled back one of his arms to deflect it with a slash, but the Elite Four member had already foreseen that, so as soon as Slowbro threw the water ball, she gave her next command.

"Ice Beam."

Much to Ash and Sceptile's shock, Slowbro fired the Ice Beam, freezing the sphere midflight and turning it into a solid projectile. The sudden change took Sceptile off guard and distracted him for a second, allowing the ice ball to hit him in the face. Ice shards flew all over the place and Sceptile landed sideways, but he quickly jumped back to his feet and looked defiantly at Slowbro.

"Freezing a Water-type attack to turn it into an ice projectile," Lorelei said, taking advantage of the pause. "I must thank you, Ash, I think I'll add that idea to my personal arsenal from now on. Although it's much more useful when you can do both attacks yourself instead of needing your opponent to do the other, don't you agree?"

Ash gritted his teeth and let out a little groan, but she couldn't hold it against Lorelei for doing that. Furthermore, she did not only take his strategy, but also took it one step beyond by using it all by herself. As expected from an Elite Four member.

"I'm flattered that you like my ideas, but we still have many where that came from," Ash assured. "Sceptile, Dragon Pulse!"

"Fire Blast!"

Slowbro's fire kanji clashed against a blue energy blast that took the form of a large dragon, exploding in a show of multicolored lights. Both Pokémon continued to fire their attacks one after another for a while, with the same result. They seemed to be evenly matched in raw power, but Sceptile had a clear speed advantage in speed that became more glaring as the match went forward, and he finally was able to fire one of his attacks ahead of Slowbro, knocking her off-balance and creating an opening to keep pressing forward.

"Bullet Seed!"

"Dodge."

Sceptile fired another seed barrage at Slowbro, who used Telekinesis in herself to spin around and dodge the rounds. Since Sceptile only stopped for a split second to fire and then jumped to find another angle, Slowbro couldn't focus on him and all she could do was try to dodge. But the more she did, the more Sceptile closed the distance getting more and more in range for a melee attack. Lorelei anticipated to it, and decided to avoid it at any cost.

"Frozen Pulse," she said, naming her own version of the Water Pulse/Ice Beam combo.

Slowbro threw the water sphere and immediately fired the beam to freeze it. Luckily for Ash that he saw it coming this time, and he could react fast to counter it.

"X-Scissor!"

Sceptile's blades took a more bluish tint, and they hit the Frozen Pulse a double cross slash from below, shattering it to pieces. With that ice projectile out of the way, he was able to get in range ant slashed at Slowbro with a similar one, except from above.

"Way to go, Sceptile, keep attacking!" Ash said, encouraged by that hit.

The X-Scissor sent Slowbro flying a long distance, but she quickly recovered and looked defiantly at her foe. Lorelei clenched her fists slightly as she saw Ash pressing on the offensive as soon as he gained the upper hand.

Unfortunately for him, said advantage was about to disappear, or better said, to invert.

"Trick Room," the Elite Four trainer called.

"Slow…" As soon as the command was voiced, Slowbro began to glow with a blue aura, while the field around them started to cover itself with a series of transparent squared tiles, which extended all over the ground and then formed walls and a roof, creating a large cube that encased them all.

Ash grimaced as he saw how Sceptile's movements began to slow down while Slowbro's accelerated. Having faced this move previously he knew how annoying it could be, and it made sense they had saved it up until now. After all, it was useful against an opponent who was faster than Slowbro, like Sceptile. The lizard had almost landed another X-Scissor slash, but he slowed down enough for Slowbro to dodge easily. Without wasting any time, she placed behind at a safe distance.

"Telekinesis," Lorelei called.

Now with the speed boost on her favor, Slowbro thrust her palms forward and immobilized Sceptile, levitating him to the center of the Trick Room's cube. The lizard began flailing his arms and kicking around as he tried to break free from her grasp, but to no success.

"Ice Beam."

With Sceptile unable to do anything to prevent it, Slowbro fired the white energy beam, encasing Sceptile in a large ice block, comparable to the one she used to finish Torterra off. And just like she did Torterra, she dropped him down like a meteor, except that she aimed for the solid ground instead of the frozen pond, making it shatter even easier. When Slowbro saw Sceptile was still conscious and struggling to get back up, Lorelei snapped her fingers again so Slowbro would pay heed to her orders.

"You and Sceptile have fought well, Ash," she said. "But now it all comes to an end. Slowbro, lift him up high and drop him to the ground!"

Slowbro outstretched her hands once more and lifted Sceptile, ready to drop him one last time. As she did, Ash tried to get the gears in his head to work, trying to think about something. The Trick Room had removed the speed advantage they could have used on their favor, and as long as it remained active…

"Wait a moment… that's it!" the trainer shouted. "We need to remove this space!"

Lorelei arched an eyebrow. What did Ash mean by 'remove this space'? Whatever it was, she wouldn't allow him to try: Sceptile had already gotten to the ceiling and now Slowbro just had to slam him to the ground and the battle would be over.

"Sceptile, Leaf Storm!"

Once more, Lorelei was caught off-guard by Ash's decision. Going in freefall there was no way he could properly aim the attack at Slowbro.

But as she soon realized, Slowbro wasn't the target at all: Sceptile simply fired the attack backwards and to propel himself forward. Despite not having his normal speed, the pushing force caused by the leaf explosion was enough to rocket him at Slowbro, whose focus broke briefly.

"X-Scissor!" Ash shouted.

"Move aside!" Lorelei replied.

Due to the shock, Slowbro barely managed to spin to dodge Sceptile's blue blades. But Lorelei's relief left as soon as it came, since Sceptile kept going forward without turning around, evidencing that his intention had never been to attack Slowbro.

His actual target was the Trick Room's wall.

"Scep… TILE!"

A double cross slash, adding up the flight speed was enough to deliver a devastating blow. A large X-shaped mark formed over the transparent tiles, causing small cracks that soon grew bigger and bigger, until they finally spread across the entire space and shattered it to pieces, before disintegrating into dust. And Lorelei's gelid demeanor went along with it.

"No…" the glasses-wearing woman muttered as she realized what that implied.

"Now, Sceptile, we can't let Slowbro escape! LEAF BLADE!" Ash shouted at the top of his lungs.

After regaining his normal speed, Sceptile charged without missing a beat at Slowbro, slashing at her over and over without mercy, never giving her a breathing moment. All they could do now was to start a ferocious assault and hit her as hard as they could until she couldn't get back up anymore.

"Disable!" Lorelei managed to call when she had a brief respite. Even though Slowbro managed to raise her hands and paralyze Sceptile to turn off the green blades, it was just a minor setback.

"Don't stop, use X-Scissor!" Ash called out.

If one attack didn't work, all they had to do was switch to another. The green blades were replaced by blue ones, no less effective as they too served their purpose. Sceptile kept slashing at Slowbro over and over again, until he delivered a double cross strike that crashed the Water-type against the waterfall, making her sink into the still running water. Before she could recover, though, Sceptile rushed as fast as he could outstretching both arms, determined to go for the killing blow.

One last X-Scissor with all of his might, and the result was a large cross-shaped cut that literally split apart the waterfall for a moment, causing a rock slide on Slowbro, while Sceptile jumped backwards to get away from it.

A few seconds passed, and when the waterfall's flow stabilized after the rock slide, Slowbro was revealed to have lost her Mega Evolution. She laid on the water motionless, her eyes blank and her mouth wide open.

"Slowbro is unable to battle, Sceptile wins!" the referee declared. "Lorelei is out of usable Pokémon, thus the victory of the match goes to the challenger, Ash Ketchum!"

"It's over, ladies and gentlemen, an amazing match has reached its conclusion! Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town has scored his first victory against the Elite Four with an incredible 6-2!"

Slowbro's icon turned off completely, and with that the result was sealed. The crowd began to applaud while Ash's portrait enlarged on the scoreboard and the letters of ***WINNER*** appeared along with it **.** Sceptile returned to his normal form and dropped himself on his rear in exhaustion, while Ash and Pikachu approached to check that he was fine. The lizard gave them a thumbs up, and then they turned towards Lorelei, who returned her fallen Slowbro and walked slowly towards them. The Pallet trainer did the same as Pikachu hopped back onto his shoulder, and along with Sceptile they too walked to meet with her in the middle of the field.

"Congratulations, Ash." She extended her hand, having left her icy demeanor behind and adopting her usual gentle and relaxed expression. "You were able to break through my ice defenses to achieve victory. You've certainly come a long way since the last time we met. I'm very happy you could give me such an exciting battle, so I'll retire happy that you were my last official opponent."

"All credit is for my Pokémon," Ash said as he shook hands with her, and then glanced at Pikachu and Sceptile, who then shared a fist-bump with each other and their trainer. "They did their best for me."

"Well said. I'm glad you haven't forgotten your lesson back then," the red-haired woman said. "You better not forget it if you want to overcome the rest of this challenge."

Ash nodded, and he glanced at the scoreboard and the crowd cheering for him. A great victory indeed, but he still had a hard challenge ahead of him. There were still three more Elite Four members to defeat, and then, above all of them, the Regional Champion. The real challenge was just beginning.

* * *

 _ **Cerulean Gym, that night…**_

"Who the hell calls when I'm taking a shower?!"

Covered in her bathrobe and unwrapping the towel from her hair, the redhead ran towards the videophone, rather irritated with the ***RING, RING, RING, CALLING IN, CALLING IN*** going off non-stop. It better be important.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" she shouted as she sat down and pressed the call button with one hand and grabbed the auricular with the other. "Cerulean Gym, hello?"

"Hey, Misty." It was none other than Ash, whose happy expression turned slightly confused as he saw her. "Woah, did I call at a bad time?"

"No, of course not," the redhead replied, half-sarcastically. "By the way, congrats on your victory, you were awesome."

"So you did see it, huh?" the black-haired boy smirking.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," said Misty. "Anyway, did you need something?"

"Nothing special, just… I just wanted to thank you," Ash replied. "The tips you gave me really helped. I owe you one."

"Oh, do you want me to count all the things you owe me?"

"I didn't know you were counting them," he replied, putting slightly. "Though, you could have warned me about the Mega Evolution."

"Hey, don't look at me like that, I had no idea of that one," the girl defended herself. "And all things considered, even more so with you, I'd say you were pretty lucky."

For a moment, both of them gave each other death glares, and after a few seconds… they simply laughed out loud. It felt great to do that, it brought them many good memories. It almost seemed like no time had passed at all from those days.

"Seriously, I really appreciate that you helped me that much," he said with full sincerity.

"It was nothing. Anything for my best friend," Misty replied.

"If there's something I could do for you, anything…"

"Don't worry about that," she interrupted. "Today you proved yourself up to par for the challenge. Keep doing your best and make sure you clear it. That's all you have to do."

"Sure thing," Ash said as he placed a hand against the screen.

Misty quickly caught what he meant: they couldn't high-five through a video call, so that was the next best thing. With a nod, both of them bid each other farewell and ended the call.

The redhead glanced at one of the photographs in the living room, one of so many they had taken during their early journeys. That one with her, Togepi, Brock, their photographer friend Todd Snap, and of course Ash y Pikachu. She still recalled Todd little slip on the ground and how they had to catch him, though looking back now, it was funny to remember. Had it really been so long since then?

"Ash, you can do it," the redhead said, reminiscing with determination, and having full certainty that her friend would clear the challenge. Victories would only encourage him to keep going forward and work even harder. As long as he didn't let it get over his head, he'd be just fine.

On the other hand… maybe she could have asked for some little favors now that Ash had beaten Lorelei, since winning against at least one Elite Four member earned him certain privileges. Oh well, it was a bit late. She'd tell him the next time they met in person or if he called again.

 _ **To be continued…**_

* * *

 **Author's notes:**

Okay, so the wait is over. At least I didn't take that long to finish this battle, but well, I've been quite busy. Studies, work, having to wait in a LONG line at the bank just to get a meager amount of cash… but I don't wanna bore you guys with that.

Now, on to the battle itself. Although I changed the order of the rounds and some of the Pokémon used in the original version (I replaced Meganium for Sceptile, and a Slowking I had given Lorelei instead of her usual Slowbro), it wasn't as hard to keep it flowing and build the sequence step by step as I went forward, and the new mechanics along with the strategies Ash has used in the anime weren't that hard to adapt. You might have also seen a few nods to my other stories, but as I've already stated, there's no shared continuity unless stated otherwise. Anyone up for trying to identify them? I might consider doing something special for those who try and succeed.

So, for the time being this story will be paused, as I have a pending oneshot for the Resetverse before the month's end, though I'll have the mid-term break in August and September, and I'll be more free to write when I'm done with my current exams. Thanks for the reviews to **highlander348, w00za, Hall Gowrt, annoyingintrovert, Alphadelta-23** and **AzureTemplar3535.** See you next time, and just in case, even though I have some specific details for the battles set, suggestions for Pokémon and movesets for the remaining Elite Four members are welcome.


	4. Ash vs Koga (I)

**Pokémon: Aiming for Kanto's Summit**

 **By Fox McCloude.**

 **Disclaimer:** Pokémon and all related characters belong to Satoshi Tajiri, Nintendo and GAMEFREAK. All rights reserved.

 **Battle 2:** Ash vs Koga (I).

* * *

 _ **Kalos region, Lumiose City…**_

If it wasn't for his Gym Leader duties, Clemont would have gladly gone to Johto with Bonnie. Watching the matches on TV wasn't the same as seeing them live from the stadium, being there to root for her and all.

"Come on, Bonnie, you can do this!" the bespectacled blond shouted, pumping his fists and at the edge of the couch, unable to takes his eyes off the screen.

Bonnie's Dedenne was standing up to a much larger Blastoise who fired water streams all over the field. But the little electric mouse ran from one side to another without so much as a splash. Once he got a running start, he jumped rubbing his cheeks, and then rammed sideways on the turtle's face to unleash his electricity. A few seconds later, Blastoise gave off sparks and slumped backwards on the ground.

"Blastoise is unable to battle!" the referee announced. "Dedenne is the winner, and Bonnie moves on to the next round!"

"Yeah! That's my little sister!" The boy clapped, and adjusted his glasses to make a glowing effect. "I could not be more proud of you."

The camera zoomed on Bonnie, who jumped in joy as she hugged Dedenne for his victory, and as soon as she saw it, she extended her fingers in a V-sign at the screen.

"If you're watching this, big brother, this one was for you!" she announced.

"Dennenene!" the mouse added.

Clemont almost felt tears of joy forming. He was really proud of how far his little sister had gone, and he regretted not being able to be there in person. However, they had made a promise: she would do her best in other regions as a trainer, and he'd continue to improve himself as a Gym Leader, and as an inventor.

"Hey, what did I miss?" his father's voice called out. Clemont turned around and saw Meyer arriving along with Ampharos, before hanging his cap.

"Welcome home, dad," he said. "Bonnie made it to the next round of the Silver Conference. You should have seen it, Dedenne defeated a Blastoise!"

"Haha, I wouldn't expect any less from my little girl!" Meyer said with pride. "Alright, the workshop's clear, it's all yours for the rest of the afternoon."

"Thank you. It's time to get to work with those upgrades for Clembot." Clembot adjusted his glasses for effect again. "It's time for science to open the path to the future!"

Clemont went to get his tools from the drawer. During the weekends he left Clembot in charge of the Lumiose Gym, but due to some security breaches after an electric sabotage, he decided it was time to install a parallel security system, to make it more effective to defend the gym from unwanted visitors.

"Hey, Clemont, check this out," Meyer suddenly said.

"Hmm?" Clemont glanced at the TV. His father had stopped in a Kanto channel, about to transmit an important event. A brunette reporter was in front of a large stadium delivering the news.

"Welcome to Pokémon TV from the Kanto region. We are live here, ready for the second match of this year's Elite Four Challenge." After those words, a few quick slides of a Pokémon battle appeared on screen: a Pikachu versus a Cloyster, a Floatzel versus a Lapras, and a Mega Sceptile versus a Mega Slowbro. Then, it gave a close up to the faces of their trainers. "Challenger Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town achieved a spectacular victory against Lorelei two days ago, and now he's preparing for his next battle. We'll be broadcasting it live for you all to see shortly, so stay tuned!"

"Ash?" Clemont leaned against the couch, and then he held his forehead with both hands. "Ah, it's true, I can't believe I forgot! His Elite Four Challenge, and I missed his first match!"

"Well, I don't think you'll want to miss the second. Wanna see it together?" Meyer suggested.

Clemont left his tools, sitting back on the couch along with his father, who grabbed a popcorn bowl to get a fistful to his mouth. Clembot's security upgrades could wait one or two hours; he couldn't miss his friend's match.

"This'll be exciting. I want to see how much Ash has improved since the last time we met," the blond said, wishing to see what surprises Ash would give him. After all, the Pallet Town trainer had always been like that: unpredictable and full of surprises.

* * *

 _ **Kanto region, Indigo Stadium…**_

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the Indigo Stadium! After his first victory against the Water and Ice Master, Ash Ketchum is ready to battle his second opponent for this challenge! Competitors, enter the stadium!"

That was Ash's cue, who rushed to his spot next to the battlefield, just in time after doing some last minute changes to his strategy. The trainer appeared through his side and stopped on his trainer box on the battlefield to catch his breath and greet the crowd, who cheered for him instantly.

"Oof, we almost didn't make it," the trainer commented.

"Pikapika," the mouse added. Despite not taking part in this battle, there was no way he'd separate from his trainer, and he could always cheer for his other teammates.

One of the advantages of not taking Pikachu in his Pokéball was that he didn't always have to carry it around, which allowed him to carry a six-Pokémon team without having to separate from his partner. He didn't do it often, sure, but now was one of those occasions.

"Alright, we're ready to…" Then Ash noticed how the other side of the arena was completely empty. "Wait a minute, where's Koga?"

As if answering his question, something big and round, half-white and half-red, came rolling from the other side of the battle arena. Ash barely got to see it was an Electrode, smirking widely.

"Electrode!" it announced before giving sparks and exploding, raising a large smokescreen much to everyone's surprise.

As the smoke cleared, a human silhouette became visible. Standing on the same place where the Electrode used to be was now Koga, dressed in his ninja attire and posing with the typical hand sign, his eyes closed.

After a few seconds, he opened them and stared at Ash. "Born in the shadows, live in the shadows. Such is the fate of the ninja. Greetings, young Ash. I've been waiting anxiously for the moment to face you again."

"Same here. If you're one of the Elite Four now, I figure you must be much stronger than before."

"You are correct," Koga said. "You could break through Lorelei's ice barriers. Now let's see how you deal with my sinister techniques and my ninja traps."

"The battle between Elite Four member Koga, and challenger Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town will begin now," the referee declared. "The standard rules from the previous match hold: it'll be a full six-on-six battle, and substitutions are only allowed when a Pokémon is defeated."

At those words, the stadium's arena opened to make way for their chosen battlefield, while the scoreboard above them turned on to show both their faces and the empty icons for both Pokémon. Completely different to the one where he battled against Lorelei, Koga chose a terrain for an evident advantage: a forest grove area with plenty of places to hide, no doubt the battlefield for quick and stealthy attacks before the opponent could see what struck them.

"I choose Ariados!" Koga declared as he threw his first Pokéball.

The spider materialized on the field, clasping his mandibles. Since Poison-types were Koga's specialty, Ash had chosen a very varied team basing on that, knowing the master ninja's strategies based on confusing, poisoning, and inflicting status ailments to weaken the opponent, and the deliver a decisive blow when they were the most vulnerable.

"Here we go! Donphan, I choose you!" Ash shouted.

"Donphan!" The little elephant raised his trunk and stomped on the ground, ready to fight.

"Start!" the referee declared, as the first icons on the scoreboard lit up, showing both Pokémon.

Koga gave his first command as soon as the flags were raised. "Shadow Sneak!"

Before Ash had a chance to reply, Ariados' shadow extended across the ground very fast, until it went below Donphan's feet. Then, a red-eyed silhouette of Ariados emerged from behind and struck, but Donphan instinctively rolled up in a Defense Curl, and the hit did nothing but shake him a little.

"Escape into the trees," Koga pointed.

The spider clasped his mandibles again and firing a sticky thread swung towards one of the trees, hiding between the foliage before vanishing from sight. Nice play, Ash thought; he surely knew how to use the battlefield as good as Lorelei.

However, Ash knew how to force him out of hiding, and it wasn't as hard as it seemed at first glance.

"Donphan, get in the center and use Earthquake!"

Donphan curled up once more and turned into a living steamroller, heading for the center of the battlefield at full speed. Once there, he jumped up and fell hard, causing the ground to rumble and shake powerfully. The trees soon followed suit, and after a minute or so he achieved his goal: the tremor caused Ariados to drop out of his hiding place, falling vulnerable on the ground.

"There it is, Rollout!"

Donphan rolled forward to squash Ariados, who had fallen upside down and was unable to right himself.

"Escape again and use Fell Stinger."

The spider shot the sticky thread once again and retracted it to swing around a tree, sparing himself from being squished by a hair. He spun around and charged again, his head stinger glowing with light purple energy.

"Jump off with Bounce!" Ash called.

As fast as he could, Donphan crouched over his feet, and jumped up to avoid the stringer, causing Ariados to miss and nail himself into another tree. With his stinger stuck in there, he tried to pull it off to break free.

Ash then punched forward. "Rollout!"

Donphan rolled forward again, and Ariados was unable to dodge this time. In fact, Donphan's Rollout was so strong it actually snapped the tree breaking through the trunk, passing over the spider along with it. Ash caught a small surprise gesture in Koga's face, probably impressing him.

"Ariados, Double Team."

With another mandible clasp, Ariados vanished in a blur and reappeared again split in two, then four, then eight, and so on until he multiplied all over the field. Ash and Donphan glanced all over the place, trying to determine where the attacks would come from, but the more they multiplied, the harder it was to keep up.

"Shadow Sneak."

Ash and Donphan stood on alert, and they immediately tried to glance everywhere trying to spot the attack. The most obvious choice seemed to come from behind, but Ariados' shadow actually came from the front. Thanks to being partially hidden by the tree shades surrounding them, they didn't see it until it was too late, and they couldn't defend themselves when the shadowy spider sunk his fangs on Donphan before dissipating, and then coming from the other side, once, twice, thrice more.

Ash then realized how much more of a field advantage Ariados had: not only could he hide between the trees, but he could also use them to conceal his Shadow Sneak attack. For a moment he considered using Earthquake again to get him out, but as he was in the move with Double Team and shooting threads, it wouldn't be as easy to shake him out of hiding.

"Let's see… if we can't get him out, let's take out his hiding places," Ash decided. "Donphan, use Gyro Ball and take down as many trees as you can!"

"Donphan!" Donphan jumped up again and curled up, but he started to float horizontally as he became engulfed in a silver energy.

Next, he turned into a spinning flying saucer and went to the nearest tree, breaking through the trunk and taking it down. He followed suit with the next one, and then another, until he brought down every single one he could reach within the center clearing area.

By a lucky chance, he brought down the tree Ariados was hiding in, forcing him to leap to safety and exposing himself in the process. Donphan immediately turned around and tackled him hard, before landing back on the ground and putting him in a vulnerable position.

"Let's finish him off, Hyper Beam!"

Their best bet was to launch a high-powered attack to win the first round and take an early advantage while they still could. Koga remained still all the way while Ariados seemingly struggled to right himself while still on the ground. Donphan quickly finished charging and fired the blast, causing a huge explosion in the impact point.

As the smoke cleared, Ash and Donphan saw the spider still laying, motionless in the same place, and the Pallet trainer allowed himself to smile… until 'Ariados' vanished in a puff of smoke and was replaced by a piece of tree trunk.

"What the?!/ Donphan!" trainer and Pokémon shouted in unison.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu yelled as he pointed to the battlefield.

Right when there was another smoke burst right behind Donphan, where Ariados reappeared with his eyes and fangs fixated on him. Then they understood what happened: Ariados used Substitute in the last second to save himself from the Hyper Beam, and was now set for a counterattack.

"Substitution technique completed. Use Giga Drain," Koga ordered.

Ariados' fangs glowed green before he sank them on Donphan's neck, and both Pokémon then glowed with an intense emerald light as Donphan's energy was siphoned and transferred to the spider. After using the Hyper Beam, he was unable to move to shake off his foe until Ariados had already sucked a fair amount of energy. Only then he could move and use his trunk to pull his adversary off of him, who was now stronger than ever after the energy he replenished with that attack. He also seemed to be craving for even more.

"Rollout!" Ash shouted desperately, and Donphan began rolling once more, picking up speed as he moved forward.

"Toxic Thread," Koga called.

Ariados fired another thread stream, but much wider and purple, which tangled around Donphan's rolling form, and in a matter of seconds it turned him into a purple sticky ball slowing down by the second, until he finally stopped right in front of Ariados.

"Donphan!" Ash shouted.

"Fell Stinger," Koga commanded.

The stinger on Ariados' head glowed again, and the spider dashed forward towards the sticky ball. He struck with lightning speed, cutting the threads and causing all the thread to fall in shreds around Donphan, who fell backwards. He tried to get back up, but his skin took a purple tint, evidencing poisoning from the last attack.

In such condition, Ash realized Donphan was no longer in condition to keep fighting, and his hand moved to the Pokéball to return him. Ariados was preparing another Fell Stinger, and Ash was unsure whether he should forfeit the first round, or try and take it to the very end so as to at least ensure Ariados wouldn't leave unscathed.

"Phan, donphan!" the elephant cried out when he noticed what he was trying.

"Donphan?" Ash asked. "You… you still want to go on?"

Donphan nodded, and faced Ariados once more. Seeing his determination, Ash lowered his hand and decided to stay with him in this last ditch effort. Before he succumbed to the poisoning, they had to at least give Ariados one last blow.

"Use Gyro Ball and fly in circles!" Ash shouted.

Donphan once more rolled up and flew around the field like a saucer as he spun out. Ariados dodged the first attack with a jump, but Donphan kept flying around, every time covering a wider or narrower area depending on where Ariados went. Donphan wasn't too fast on his feet, but rolling and flying across the air that way made up for it.

That said, with each passing second and using that attack made the poison act faster every time, and Donphan was now probably still going thanks to his adrenaline. For the briefest moment, Donphan managed to arc himself well and hit Ariados, but it turned out to be a fake: another decoy created with Substitute, and the spider reappeared above.

"Spread your Toxic Thread all over the field," Koga called.

Ariados raised his head and shot more purple string streams, creating a web-like curtain to fall over the battlefield. Donphan stopped flying around and landed on the sticky thread, while more of it got stuck on top of him. He tried to remove it, but the more he struggled, the more tangled he became, and the faster the poison acted.

"Fell Stinger."

At Koga's command, the spider powered-up his stinger and charged against Donphan headfirst. The elephant did nothing but glare defiantly, refusing to close his eyes as he waited for the inevitable. Ariados passed by him like a flash, and landed behind Donphan, who stood for a few seconds before slumping heavily on the ground.

"Donphan is unable to battle! Ariados is the winner!" the referee declared, and Donphan's icon on the board turned off.

"Return, Donphan!" Ash declared as he raised his Pokéball to recall his fallen Pokémon. "Well done, now take a rest."

The Pallet trainer looked ahead. Koga and Ariados had fought pretty well. Opening the battle with Donphan hadn't been a good call on his part, but at least he had been able to see what Ariados was capable of. He was very fast and had many tricks, not to mention he had left the battlefield full of poisonous threads that could make things difficult. At least for now, it didn't seem prudent to face him with a ground-bound Pokémon. He needed an aerial opponent, a speedy one.

"Swellow, I choose you!" Ash called as he threw his second ball.

"Swellow!" the swallow Pokémon cried out, spreading his wings and taking flight instantly.

Koga glanced at his opponent. He seemed to consider for a moment whether he should switch or not, but seeing Ariados, he decided he was still in condition to keep battling. Plus, he still had some aces up his sleeve to use against their foes. With a nod, he confirmed to the referee he'd continue.

"Let the battle continue!" he declared as he raised his flags.

"Ariados, use Double Team," Koga called, and the spider once more multiplied himself all over the field.

"Swellow, use Double Team too!"

"Swellow!"

The bird squawked, and many copies of himself appeared all over the field and in the air. Ash caught once more that Koga raised his eyebrows, since for every copy of Ariados there were at least two of Swellow. The ninja master was clearly impressed, as not everyone was capable of matching Ariados' Double Team, let alone surpassing it that way.

"String Shot, to all enemies."

Ariados clicked his mandible and fired more sticky thread out of his mouth. Unlike the traditional attack, he was firing it in small globs, fast as bullets towards the clones to dispel them fast. In a matter of seconds he had eliminated several of them, but still didn't manage to get the real Swellow, not realizing he had hidden amongst the rest and was readying an attack.

"Aerial Ace!" Ash shouted.

Squawking from behind, Swellow flapped his wings and shot himself forward leaving a white streak trail behind, vanishing right before crashing against Ariados and reappearing on the side to hit him. The spider once again ended up tipping over his back and Swellow performed a loop to continue with another blow from above. He was ready to go for a second Aerial Ace blow.

"Electroweb," Koga called.

Even still belly up and struggling to get back up, Ariados was far from helpless: he formed an electric sphere in his mouth to fire, and when it hit the bird it spread into a giant net to literally bag him. The attack caught him off-guard, but in the struggle, he opened his wings violently and broke free of it, even still giving off some sparks.

"An Electric-type attack," Ash said. "I see, so you were keeping that one up your sleeve."

Indeed, Koga was a Poison-type specialist, but he also had many Bug-types to his disposal, and since Flying-types were one of their natural weaknesses, it made sense he'd have a countermeasure against them. But in that case, electric attacks was something Swellow could use on his favor, and they'd be in for a big surprise.

"Fell Stinger."

"Defend with Steel Wing!"

Ariados' head stinger glowed once more before he shot forward at Swellow, whose wings took on the metallic layer. As he delivered a wing slap to deflect Ariados' charge, the stinger was unable to pierce through the steel, and Ariados was sent plummeting to the ground, stunned and ready for another attack.

"Quick Attack, go!" shouted Ash.

Swellow charged again at breakneck speed, leaving a uniform white streak behind him, while Ariados was unable to react in time with Substitute to dodge the impact. Swellow's attack speed was clearly superior to Donphan's, and while his attacks were nowhere nearly as powerful, they were accurate and difficult to dodge. After flailing Ariados on the ground, the bird once more took flight up and glared defiantly at his arachnid foe.

"Electroweb, full area," Koga called. Ariados formed another electric sphere in his mouth, a tad bigger than before, then fired it at Swellow.

"Charge with Quick Attack!" the black-haired trainer yelled as he punched forward.

"Swellow!"

Much to Koga's surprise, Ash didn't call for Swellow to dodge the attack. The bird closed his wings and dove down directly towards the electric sphere, piercing through it with his beak right before it spread into a web. Sparks flew all over the field as Swellow crashed against Ariados hard, taking to the sky once more and turning around to come back for another round.

"Impressive… I had never seen a Flying-type taking electric attacks that way," the ninja muttered. "But he must have some limit. Ariados, Toxic Thread."

"Double Team!"

Before Ariados could throw his venomous strings, Swellow had gone ahead and multiplied over the field once more. Like before, despite being able to eliminate a fair number of clones, the spider couldn't get the real one, who kept hiding among his copies as he searched for a blind angle to charge, finding it behind.

However, this time Koga anticipated to it and gave a preemptive command with a hand seal for Ariados to see. "Substitute, now."

Ariados immediately was covered in a white layer just before Swellow hit him. With another puff of smoke, Swellow hit another log, but he kept flying forward and made a U-turn to get a panoramic view of the field, where he saw Ariados reappearing on one of the treetops.

"Toxic Thread, rapid-fire," Koga called.

Instantly, Ariados fired purple thread globs at Swellow, the same way as he previously did with String Shot, or even faster. Even with his speed, the bird had troubles to dodge them.

"Tailwind!" Ash shouted.

Or that was what Koga believed: Swellow flapped his wings to create an ascending wind current to boost his already impressive speed, as well as his dodging actions. Koga's demeanor, until then impassible, quickly turned into a slight frown as he saw how formidable his foe was. The bird maneuvered nimbly between the Toxic Thread shots, not even letting them graze a feather, and seeing no other choice, Koga chose to use his other card.

"Electroweb."

As Ariados charged the electric sphere again, Ash and Swellow exchanged a brief glance. The trainer only gave a nod, letting the bird know what he had to do. Seconds after, Ariados fired electric spheres one after another, each one bigger than the previous one to cover a wider area. But like before, Swellow didn't dodge: he charged ahead against them, making contact with every electric net, and piercing through them with sheer power.

And then the unthinkable happened: as he broke through the third electric net, all its power merged into Swellow's body, covering the bird into a golden layer with lightning sparks around. The crowd let out a cry in awe, and even Koga himself was surprised, more notoriously.

"How…? What's going on?"

"That's it, Swellow!" Ash yelled, pumping his fists in excitement. "Now go, Quick Attack!"

"Swellow!"

When Koga realized what was going on, his first thought was that 'Quick Attack' should instead be renamed 'Lightning Attack', as Swellow flew so fast they didn't even see him coming; literal lightning speed. Sparks appearing on Ariados evidenced the attack had done electric damage.

"Aerial Ace assault, full speed!" Ash yelled.

"Ariados, Toxic Thread!" Koga countered, raising his voice for the first time in the match.

Ariados fired the poisonous string once more, but as soon as it made contact, it dissolved against the sparks. Swellow continued unstoppable and hit Ariados repeatedly. Whatever that strange electric armor was, it didn't only powered-up his attacks, but also gave him a speed boost to the point the naked eye could barely keep up.

"Long-ranged Giga Drain," Koga called once he calmed down.

Evidently, seeing the effect it had on the Toxic Thread, Koga decided not to take his chances in doing that attack at point-blank range, instead keeping his distance. Ariados' mandibles glowed green and unleashed energy tendrils towards Swellow, hopefully to recover at least part of the lost energy during the last assault. Ash however foresaw his intention, and called for a Steel Wing so the bird could protect himself. The tendrils hit the metallic wing and faded into nothingness before being able to suck any energy out of Swellow, who was left free to continue his attack.

"Brave Bird, finish it!"

"Ariados, Fell Stinger!"

The bird flew as high as he could, and then took a dive at the spider at full speed. In a last burst of desperation, Ariados charged head on with the stinger to hit Swellow and inflict at least some damage before going down, but the attack was mostly harmless against the electric armor, and Swellow won out in the clash without issues. The spider skidded on the ground as Swellow flew past him, giving off some red sparks due to the recoil damage, but otherwise suffering no consequences.

"Ariados is unable to battle, Swellow is the winner!" the referee declared.

Ariados' icon turned off instantly, and Ash felt like celebrating. The tables were now even and the initial disadvantage was gone. Koga for his part, meditated deep in thought before deciding who'd be the best opponent to face Swellow.

After a while, the ninja grabbed his next ball and threw it. "I choose Crobat!"

"Crobat!" The four-winged bat appeared in the air, flying up until he was on the same altitude as Swellow, as his icon on the scoreboard turned on. The referee instantly raised his flags for the battle to continue.

"Swellow, use Quick Attack!" Ash called.

Swellow charged at Golbat at full speed. The bat remained in place, as if he didn't care about dodging. Koga however, was waiting for the right moment to counterattack, risking to see if it worked as he expected.

"Mimic."

With a brief cry, Crobat's eyes glowed, and much to the surprise of everyone, especially Ash and Swellow, Crobat charged in the same way as the bird, but not only mimicking the Quick Attack, but also the armor's electric effect. They both clashed against each other head on, creating a large lightning bolt sphere that exploded, sending them knocked backwards and giving off sparks.

"Just as I thought," Koga declared. "We can use that same attack for ourselves. Air Cutter."

"Air Slash!" Ash countered.

Crobat flapped his wings fast as he fired small, shuriken-shaped projectiles against Swellow, who replied with one single hard flap to send a lone, bigger wind blade. Crobat dodged the attack without much issue, but unlike Swellow he could keep pressing on, and while the bird dodged a few shurikens, others managed to graze him, even if the electric armor reduced the damage.

A few seconds later, the Tailwind's speed petered out, and both of them ended up more or less on even grounds in speed. Swellow was still the faster of the two, but Crobat managed to anticipate where he was going to attack and reacted preemptively to avoid getting hit, or in case he couldn't dodge, he replied using the Mimic-copied attack to at least ensure his foe didn't go unscathed.

"Quick Attack!" Ash called.

"Quick Guard and counterattack," Koga replied.

Swellow shot forward, leaving an electric trail in his wake. However, Crobat emitted a red aura, expanding it in front of him to form a barrier. For a brief instant he saw the surprise in Swellow's eyes before he crashed against the wall and ended up repelled backwards. As soon as he did, the barrier vanished and Crobat performed an aerial loop before going for an electrified Quick Attack, inflicting more damage on his foe. Swellow began to fall, but before he crashed against the ground he spread his wings and rose back up, until he put himself at Crobat's level.

"Air Cutter," Koga called.

"Bat, bat, bat!"

"Steel Wing and spin out!" Ash countered.

"Swellow!"

Crobat flapped furiously, throwing a barrage of wind shurikens at Swellow. The bird in turn coated his wings in metallic energy as he flew at his adversary. Once he picked up enough momentum he began spinning, but with the wings spread to repel his foe's projectiles.

"Cross Poison defense."

In an impressive display of strength, and using his secondary wings to stay in midair, Crobat used the primary ones to coat them in purple toxic energy, creating an X-shaped energy to intercept Swellow's drill-like assault. While it cushioned the impact, he was still pushed back, and Ash decided to press on the assault as best as he could.

"Go on, Swellow, use Aerial Ace!"

Swellow squawked and charged to tackle Crobat once more, but he kept his Cross Poison defense to intercept his adversary's tackle. While he didn't avoid damage, he at least reduced it and each passing second Swellow seemed to be losing strength and speed in his attacks.

Koga had already noticed that, and he was deliberately trying to wear Swellow out. He had the suspicion that his electric armor had a limit, and he was trying to force him into it. Plus, despite not looking like it, Crobat was made to take damage and stamina, so even though Swellow managed to get a few hits in, he could pay them back and even with interest.

Meanwhile, on his side of the battlefield, Ash kept his fists clenched. Swellow's Thunder Armor, as he called it, was an excellent card to face opponents who used electric attacks, making him one of his go-to choices against them. But the power boost came at a price: total draining after using them, and Swellow's physical strain became more and more evident.

"Switch to attack," Koga called. Crobat kept his wings coated in toxic energy, and rather than waiting for his foe, he charged to use them against Swellow.

"Steel Wing, Swellow!" Ash yelled in turn.

The bat's poisoned wings clashed against the bird's metal wings. While in theory Swellow's attack had the advantage over Crobat's, the latter's strikes were so fast and accurate they forced Swellow into the defensive almost all the time.

Eventually, Crobat managed to strike Swellow hard enough to push him back, and with a hand sign from Koga, he rushed with the electrified Quick Attack for good measure. Afterwards, the sparks in Swellow's Thunder Armor became intermittent.

"We have to finish this now. Crobat, fly up for a Sky Attack," Koga declared.

"Crobat!" Instantly, Crobat flew up into the sky as fast as he could, lining up with the sun, perhaps intentionally as Ash and Swellow found themselves unable to look at him directly.

Ash gazed at his bird: the Thunder Armor's reserved were almost depleted, and once they ran out Swellow wouldn't be in fighting condition anymore. All they had left was to gamble one last attack and hope for the best.

"Swellow, use Brave Bird with everything you've got!"

"SWELLOW!" the bird shouted as he spread his wings one last time, as he became engulfed in blue flames mixing with the lightning, right when Crobat began descending towards them.

At the same time, Swellow propelled like a living rocket, creating a small burst of air with the start. Bird and bat flew at each other, their eyes fixated on their foe's, getting closer and closer to the convergence point. It'd be a battle of wills, where only the strongest would prevail…

There was an electric flash when both Pokémon collided with one another, and a huge explosion raised a lot of smoke, forcing Ash to take cover. Once he could see again, a silhouette slumped on the ground falling off the smoke cloud. It was Swellow, much to his dismay. But a couple seconds later, another also fell in similar conditions just a few feet from him, his four wings spread on the ground forming an X. The clash had left both Pokémon out of commission.

"Double KO, neither Swellow nor Crobat are able to keep battling!" the referee declared as he raised both flags, and both Pokémon's icons turned off at the same time.

"Return, Swellow!" Ash said as he recalled the bird. "Well done, now you've earned a long rest."

Ash looked ahead as Koga returned his own Crobat without sparing a word, though his affirmative gesture made it clear he was proud of him. Alright, Swellow at least had managed to even the scales. He hadn't gone ahead, but at least he wasn't behind either. He had to choose the next one carefully if he wanted to end the first half being ahead.

"I choose Venomoth!" the ninja shouted, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Venomoth, venomoth!"

The poisonous moth appeared flapping its wings, spreading some spores over the field. Ash squinted his eyes as he saw it: it looked like it was the same from back when he was a Gym Leader, but it looked a lot bigger and stronger.

"Let's see how you like this," Ash said as he grabbed his third Pokéball. "Incineroar, I choose you!"

"ROAR!" As he appeared on the field, the bipedal tiger roared to the sky, and took a wrestler stance ready to jump into the ring. Koga raised an eyebrow after seeing him, apparently a little surprised.

"Psychic," Koga called, much to everybody's surprise, especially Ash's.

For a normal trainer, starting with a Psychic-type attack against a Dark-type Pokémon seemed insane. However, Venomoth wasn't focusing the attack on Incineroar, but instead in several of the fallen tree trunks. He started spinning them around to gain momentum before throwing them at Incineroar, who simply stood firm and waited for them.

"Fire Fang!" Ash shouted.

"ROAARR!" The tiger opened wide his mouth and summoned a fiery aura, taking the form of a pair of jaws with sharp teeth. They shut violently when the trees reached him, turning them into harmless chunks of charcoal. Ash got to see Koga arched his eyebrows even more and decided to take the chance to begin with a good attack.

"Flame Charge!" he shouted as he pointed forward.

The feline roared again and became engulfed in flames, before he ran off towards the moth. For a Pokémon his size, he was able to run pretty fast, but as usual, Koga stood imperturbable as he performed a ninja hand seal once more.

"Disable and Signal Beam."

Venomoth's eyes glowed light blue as he stared intently into Incineroar's, which quickly shared the same glow for a split second. He stopped his attack dead on his tracks and his flames died out, and in the middle of the shock he was unable to do anything when the insect fired a multicolored energy beam, blasting him through the air, though he managed to right himself to land in a crouching position. As he heard the groan, the Pallet Town trainer knew exactly what Incineroar wanted to do.

"Alright, Incineroar, use Revenge!" Ash called.

Incineroar flared up with darker flames, and focused them in his claws. The feline charged at his foe to slash him mercilessly, though Venomoth simply dodged the blows flying up, down and spinning in all directions. However, Incineroar picked up the pace of his slashes until he managed to land one, which Ash capitalized with a Fire Fang to literally swallow the moth into the fiery jaws.

"Morning Sun," Koga declared, his fingers pointing upwards.

"Moth." Out of the inferno, Venomoth flew towards the son and took in the solar power to heal himself. The burn marks left by the last attack faded in matter of seconds, while Ash clenched his teeth.

"Poison Powder cyclone," Koga said, pointing his fingers ahead.

"Venomoth!"

Taking his distance, Venomoth flapped his wings hard to spread a purple spore cloud. But instead of just letting them go, he also fired some wing blasts to direct it much faster and focused on Incineroar, reducing the chances of failure. Ash for his part didn't think: he just reacted in the heat of the moment.

"Darkest Lariat, hurry!" he shouted.

Incineroar's claws once more flared up in dark flames, and right before the poison spore blast hit him, he spun out like a tornado to repel them, until the blast finally stopped. Incineroar stopped spinning and glared at his foe, while Ash exhaled in relief. Truly, the Darkest Lariat served as an improvised Counter-Shield, and without combining it with other attacks.

The tiger resumed his spinning and headed for the bug, dispersing the toxic cloud and hitting hard. Both Koga and Venomoth were caught off-guard by how fast Incineroar could move that way.

"Venomoth, ascend and use Signal Beam."

Venomoth flapped his wings and flew over Incineroar to start an aerial raid of beams. Right then, a flash signaled the Disable effect had vanished, and thus Incineroar could use his move once more.

"Use Flame Charge and jump into the air!" Ash shouted.

Incineroar set himself ablaze and ran forward. Koga seemed quite confident, as there was no way Incineroar could get to Venomoth… until he leapt up and managed to get above him, and spinning in the air he opened his arms wide to fall with a devastating press. The tiger dragged the moth along and crushed him against the ground, with a huge blast that shook the trees all over the battlefield.

"We might not be able to fly, but we can jump very high!" the Pallet trainer shouted. After all, Incineroar sparred on a regular basis with Charizard. "Fire Fang!"

With another growl, Incineroar opened his jaws to sink his flaming teeth on Venomoth with no mercy, and for good measure, he shook him wildly before letting him go and throw him against a tree. Right then, a flame burst surrounded the moth, signaling a burn had been inflicted. Even though Koga said nothing, Ash caught on that his face tensed slightly and he didn't like what just happened, at all.

"Fly up again and use Morning Sun," the ninja called.

Venomoth ascended once more to absorb sunlight, trying to heal his damage, but the burns were still active and would keep afflicting him for the rest of the fight.

"Psychic, all around the field."

Venomoth's blue aura flared up again, this time at maximum power as the moth lifted everything in his reach: fallen trees, rocks, and even chunks of soil, showing off his great psychic powers. The debris orbited around Incineroar, going faster every time until they bombarded him one after another. While he managed to dodge the first, the slowly came closer to hit him faster and closer through his blind spots.

However, the inflicted burn flared up right then, interrupting Venomoth's focus and giving Incineroar a moment's rest to slip away. Ash immediately called him to attack with another Flame Charge, increasing his speed mid-run. Venomoth dodged the initial charge, but Incineroar insisted and charged with his claws to try and catch him. The moth continued to dodge with great agility, and after taking his distance, Koga did a hand sign to call for the next counterattack.

"Poison Powder."

Venomoth spread the purple spores all around himself, although he didn't launch them in a focused blast. Instead, he concentrated them in a large cloud all over Incineroar's side of the field, as if to ensure he wouldn't have any escape route, to irremediably inhale it.

"Get ready for a Darkest Lariat!" Ash shouted.

However, before that, Koga shut his eyes and gave Venomoth a silent signal, right when Incineroar engulfed his claws in dark flames. The moth's eyes glowed blue and became fixated on the tiger's. Just for a second, but that was enough, and the flames in Incineroar's hands instantly petered out.

"What the…!"

"You can't use that spinning move to disperse it now," Koga declared.

As the Poison Powder cloud descended on the fire tiger, Ash looked around all over trying to find an escape or something he could use to counter it. Could Incineroar hold his breath until it was over? It was coming down and there was no way he could slip away.

"Use Flame Charge and spin out!" the trainer called.

"ROAR!"

Trying to repel the toxic spores somehow, Incineroar flamed on and began spinning his entire body. The result was that he created a flaming tornado, and as soon as it made contact with the toxic cloud, it started a chain reaction and detonated all of them, and the purple smoke quickly was replaced by black one, due to the amount of small yet fast explosions spreading all over the place. In fact, Venomoth was forced to pull back to avoid getting caught in the radius, but it moved way too fast and he didn't escape before some of them caught up to him. In the middle of the smoke, Incineroar appeared still engulfed in the Flame Charge, leaping to him for a shoulder tackle. In doing so he started pushing him against the ropes and had to move fast.

"Signal Beam, use all the power you've got," the ninja master called.

Gathering up his strength, Venomoth fired the Signal Beam with as much power as possible. Incineroar covered himself with his arms to try and endure it, but it was too strong and it pushed him back, slowly but surely, dragging some trenches with his feet claws. The tiger fought and struggled, but he was clearly losing…

Until Venomoth's burn flared up interrupting the attack, and then Incineroar had a breather to run and give his foe due payback.

"Revenge, now!"

"Morning Sun!" Koga tried to call out, raising his voice.

Venomoth tried to heal the damage preemptively, but Incineroar was faster, both in running the distance from one side to the other and in flaming on both his claws. Next, he leapt towards his opponent and spun out in the same way as with the Darkest Lariat and Flame Charge as before, turning into a drill-like fireball. The impact on Venomoth was devastating, and the moth was sent flying towards the opposite wall, crashing against the battlefield and slumping on the ground.

For a moment, he struggled to get back up, but the result was evident. The spinning impact speed, adding up the effect of using Revenge after taking damage from an enemy attack pretty much guaranteed he wouldn't get back up after that, although Incineroar had ended up rather tired after that harsh assault. The referee ran to check it out and immediately raised his flag.

"Venomoth is unable to battle, Incineroar is the winner! As the Elite Four member Koga has lost three Pokémon, we're entering the mid-battle break now!"

"Amazing, fans! This battle is really close! After a somewhat hard start, the challenger manages to overtake and get in the lead! What's gonna happen after the break? Stay on your seats, for we're going to find out soon enough!"

"Well done, Incineroar. Return now and take a rest," Ash declared, glancing at the scoreboard to check the situation.

The match was 3-2 on his favor, and he ended the first half ahead. Looking at Incineroar's Pokéball, he decided to leave him on standby for now. Maybe with a good breather he'd be ready to come back later, but for now, he'd try to stick to the plan and fight one-on-one. Both he and Koga still had three unrevealed Pokémon in wait, and unlike Lorelei, the videos had shown him more varied and unpredictable teams, so he couldn't form one with a fully clear advantage.

All he could do was hope the team he chose would be enough to face them, regardless of who Koga would use. And just in case, Incineroar still had one last card to play, in case he needed to get back on the ring again.

* * *

 _ **Hoenn region, Petalburg City…**_

Not only in Kalos there was people rooting for Ash. That day, the Maple marriage was watching attentively the Kanto grand event. When they weren't following their children's adventures, they'd occasionally take a peek to those of the young man who taught them so much, and inspired them to become the trainers they were today.

"We'll be right back with the grand conclusion of this exciting match. Don't leave your seats, we'll be doing the minute by minute analysis of this grand battle shortly!"

"It's amazing, just look how much Ash has improved," Caroline said, hugging her husband.

"I almost didn't recognize him. It seems like it was yesterday when he first came to this gym," Norman admitted. "At this rate he could soon be the new champion."

"Hey, I'm back!" The couple immediately turned as they heard the door open. That voice was unmistakable, and in any case, the past night he had called to let them know he'd stop by.

"Welcome home, Max!" Caroline stood up to greet him with a big hug.

Puberty had done wonders with the younger Maple child, who was now almost as tall as his mother. He still had his dark blue hair slicked back like years ago, but he had replaced his old nerd glasses by a pair of transparent blue goggles, giving him a more adventurous look, plus they were perfect for bad weather, though at the time he was wearing them over his head. His outfit consisted of a dark green jacket with matching shoes, gray pants and a yellow backpack.

"Hey, mom," he greeted her too. "What's up around here? Any news of May?"

"Called this morning, said she's going to meet one of her friends and we won't see her for a while," Norman said. "Well, though I'm glad to see you, we both know you're not here for leisure, are you?"

"Of course not, dad," the boy said as he adjusted his goggles. "I'm ready to earn my fifth Hoenn League badge."

"Is that so? Don't expect me to go easy on you just because we're family, you know that," the father replied in a challenging tone.

"Yeah, yeah, it's exciting and all," Caroline said before sparks could fly between them. "But that can wait. Max, get comfortable on the couch, I'll bring some snacks. You must be hungry after such a long trip."

As Caroline walked to the kitchen to get the snacks, Max sat on the couch along with his father, checking the TV with interest.

"Is that an Elite Four Challenge?"

"Yeah, and guess who's the challenger?" Norman added.

The slides showed some of the highlights of each battle. Although the Donphan he saw fighting against the Ariados at first didn't clue him in, as soon as he saw the electric-charged Swellow clashing against the Crobat in the air, he knew exactly who it was. After all, how many trainers did he know with a Pokémon capable of that?

"Is that Ash? I knew he'd won this year's Indigo League, so he really entered the challenge?"

"Yeah, and this is his second battle," Norman said. "We're in the mid-battle break, so you're in time to see the conclusion."

"Wow, I can't miss this." Max leaned forward to get a better view.

As the descriptive analysis of each round kept going, Max was amazed to see how much his old friend's battling style had evolved. He still recalled when he saw the Silver Conference on TV and how his Charizard lost to that Blaziken. And now, he seemingly took a page from that match, seeing the way he used his Incineroar to defeat the Venomoth when he tried to slip away through the air. Ash using his head, it almost seemed impossible, though he could see he still kept adapting and improvising quite well when he was in a pinch.

"Here you are, dig in!" Caroline said, bringing a tray full of sandwiches.

"Thanks, mom." Max grabbed one and chewed almost half of it in a single bite. "Wow, this is going to be good. Let's see how strong you've become since the last time we met, Ash."

While the Maples kept watching the analysis and waited for the battle to resume, the younger son felt himself overwhelmed by excitement. During his journey he learned a lot of his experiences with Ash, and also with his sister, and was looking forward to have a battle with him. Even more now he was seeing him battle against elite trainers of his region.

Something that always became contagious was that competitive spirit. It was always present no matter how far apart they were.

 _ **To be continued…**_

* * *

 **Author's notes:**

Okay, so here we have the start of the second Elite Four battle. This one was much harder to do since I had to make it from scratch, as it didn't exist in the original version and I had nothing to use as base or to keep, but well, at least I feel it's been worth it. The other half has yet to start, so let's see how Ash fares against the ninja master.

About the scenes at the start and at the end, I added them in case the battle came out too short (and it did, comparatively speaking), and for the opening scene, I made it because I couldn't think of anything else to do with Ash but training and getting him to prepare. Since in the past chapters I gave Misty her scene and connected her to Lorelei, I thought it would be a nice way to show the rest of Ash's friends as they watch him wherever they are. I've decided I'll give each of them their moment, though I have yet to decide whether I'll do the Alola gang as a while, or split up. Oh well, I can think about it later.

In case somebody has something to say with the last scene, keep in mind that in the anime not all trainers begin in their home region: if you recall, Paul competed in the Kanto, Johto and Hoenn leagues before going back to his native Sinnoh, so we can assume Max did a similar thing. Also, in the games Norman's badge is the fifth you earn even though it's the first gym you can reach. For all we know, Max could have arrived to Hoenn and before stopping by his home he journeyed and earned the badges, don't you think so?

Thanks a lot to **AzureTemplar3535, highlander348, Mercenary Flyer, MajorBrony95** and **annoyingintrovert** for the reviews. I'm skipping **Axel Davis** since all he did was complain about me not following the move limit, and I don't get what's the big deal (plus he was very rude about it). Until next time!


End file.
